Spoon Equality
by Jefardi
Summary: A Milk & Cereal collection, involving lots of cuddling, fluffy times and generally happy feels! [Cover art provided by Violetaristea!]
1. Chapter 1

Pyrrha Nikos is a champion, a being without peers, hailed as the Invincible Girl. Yet for all her prowess on the field of battle, winning tournament after tournament… outside of that however…

"B5?"

Pyrrha looked down at her board, shakily picking up the red pin, her head slumping in defeat: the day had been lost.

"Y-you…" It was hard to admit defeat, yet the silver eyes that stared at her compelled her to be truthful "…sank my battleship…"

"Yahooo!" Ruby jumped up and did a fist a pump, as Pyrrha sadly put the last hit marker on the game piece. Mischief glinted in Ruby's eyes and a shit-eating-grin greeted Pyrrha as she looked up. "You know what that means?"

Pyrrha knew she should be angry with the sheer level of arrogance displayed by her girlfriend, but the fact was, Ruby had won fair and square. "I…I… don't get to be the big spoon tonight."

It was a fact that Pyrrha preferred being the big spoon when the two slept, it made sense even; Pyrrha was a full ten inches – despite Ruby saying she had grown a few since they had started dating – taller than Ruby. Plus it just felt more natural to Pyrrha for be the one protecting the shorter red head. For several months that happened; Pyrrha was the big spoon to Ruby's little spoon.

Ruby, however, thought they should trade off every other night; spoon equality. After much well-meaning debates, they had figured a game of chance should decide it. Naturally this led to their current predicament, where they played a board game or had a contest to decide who would win.

Problematically, for Pyrrha this meant she tended to lose. A lot. Like a lot a lot. _Like why in the hell was Ruby so good at board games and rock, paper, scissors!?_

The one thing Pyrrha was, above all else, was determined. After the light had gone out and Ruby clung to Pyrrha's back, Pyrrha waited.

Waited until Ruby's soft sound of snoozing filtered into the room, showing that she was, and truly was asleep.

It was times like these that Pyrrha felt a little… devious.

Slowly, as to not wake up her cute sleeping girlfriend, Pyrrha twisted her body around, so she was no longer facing away from Ruby but rather facing the top of her head. Gently, ever so gently, Pyrrha put her arms around Ruby, pulling her off of her pillow and towards the older red head's chest, where a much more comfortable set of pillows awaited the younger red head.

Pyrrha knew it was only a matter of time until Ruby would turn around in her sleep, putting her back to Pyrrha and nestle against her. After all, it had been a few months before Ruby had decided to be the big spoon, she was far more used to being the little spoon.

 _After all, I am the 'Invincible Girl', I don't lose_. Pyrrha triumphantly thought as she comfortably floated off to the land of dreams, her girlfriend snoozing in her protective embrace…

 _And I want to be able to protect my rose._

* * *

AU: Hey look, a new Pyrrha/Ruby story! I wonder who it could be who wrote this?! IT WAS I, DIO- *cough cough* I mean Jefardi. Yes.

This is just going to be mostly fluff. It won't have the incredibly frequent updates that Dilation usually has but it'll update a few times a month.

Speaking of my other stories... _Dilation_ should update later today and _Acceptance_ after that! Gotta start off the day with a... yang!


	2. Chapter 2

Ruby Rose is a huntress. Ergo, she hunts; from bad guys to Grimm, they were all merely prey for her.

Pyrrha Nikos was no exception.

True, Ruby wasn't hunting her girlfriend in the conventional sense - Crescent Rose was safely holster in her room - no, she had something far better in mind. _Faaaar better._

The first thing when hunting, was to know your prey; researching them and knowing their habits. This include such things as their likes and dislikes, as well as where they frequented. Ruby knew her prey very well, almost intimately so. _Okay, it's after Pyrrha's evening training with Jaune… which means she'll be in the locker room._

The next aspect of hunting, was the approach. A huntress had to be subtle and not make a sound as they made their way towards their prey so as to not startle them. Ruby quietly inched her way into the locker room, careful to not make a sound. Yet as she searched the locker room, she couldn't find her girlfriend anywhere.

This led to the third tenet of hunting; prepare for the unexpected. Sometimes all the research a huntress had done could be all for naught; it was times like these that one had to be adaptable and think on their feet. Ruby decided to do the next logical thing and go to the next stop in Pyrrha's route. Naturally this led the red themed girl to team JNPR's dorm.

 _Target acquired._

Snoring softly, the tank top exposed some of the girl's rather generous chest, muscled arms - marred with scars from numerous battles - obscured Ruby's view of her prey's face… Ruby knew without a doubt she had found tonight's prey.

The fourth step was to wait for the perfect time strike. Patience was a hard skill for Ruby to learn, but over the course of many missions Ruby had started to learn it. Now she waited for the prey to move to a far more… advantageous spot. Hiding herself behind the door, Ruby waited.

Seconds passed as Ruby assessed her prey; the long soft crimson hair fanned out, spread across the bed, Pyrrha's face as she breathed, the look of tranquility on her face. It was times like this that Ruby still wasn't completely sure what she had done to deserve such a beautiful girlfriend but she knew she'd treasure her champion.

It wasn't long until Pyrrha started to turn, the exposing her back to the huntress. Ruby tensed as she prepared for the fifth step of hunting, going in for the kill.

Ruby sprang from her spot, latching onto a sleeping Pyrrha as quietly and as quickly as she could. Her smaller arms wrapping around her prey's torso as the night's objective had been completed.

Ruby Rose was officially the big spoon for the night.

Smiling with more than a bit of smugness Ruby settled in for the night. However the third tenet of hunting reared its ugly head as the taller redhead stirred.

"Ruby…" Pyrrha's voice was laden with lethargy as Ruby could audibly hear the drowsiness in her voice. "Is that you?"

"Yup~" Ruby sang as she snuggled into her girlfriend's muscled back. ""You're my prisoner tonig- eep!"

The huntress didn't get to finish speaking before the sixth and final aspect of hunting occurred: don't become the hunted - a tenet that Ruby had forgotten about. Pyrrha twisted around, all the sleepiness exhibited in her voice not reflected in her actions as she pulled Ruby into a familiar spot; muscled arms holding the huntress-turned-prey against two very soft and large orbs.

"Pyrrhaaaa~!" Ruby turned to face her prey, silver eyes meeting bright emerald carrying a hint of something that she couldn't quite put her finger on. "I wanna be the bi- mmph!"

It was a hot sensation, as soft and wet lips pressed against Ruby's. She was sure that there had to be a sound that accompanied it, but all Ruby could feel was _that_ sensation. The only comparison Ruby could make as strong hands gently gripped the back of her head - intertwining with her hair, pulling her deeper into it - was that it felt like melting gold; Ruby felt herself melting into the kiss as she nestled into her new spot.

Abruptly as the sensation had begun it stopped, Pyrrha drawing away from Ruby. When silver eyes finally opened again, Ruby's first image was of bright emerald eyes staring it her, the same glint in them from before. A smile unlike anything that was put on a cereal box was gracing Pyrrha's face, predatory in nature. It was at that point that Ruby realized she was the prey.

"No." Pyrrha ran a hand over Ruby's back lightly, tracing her spine with a fingertip, before pulling in the huntress close, flipping her around in the process. The back of Ruby's head nestled onto two very soft pillows as Pyrrha whispered faintly to Ruby, a possessive edge to her voice.

"You are _my_ prisoner."

* * *

AU: Here is the second chapter! I hope you awesome people enjoy it!

HOLY CRAP, HOW DID THIS GET POPULAR?! This just... astounds me! Thanks for your support guys and girls!

I'll try and have a new chapter ready for this next Friday if I don't have my next Acceptance chapter done by then!


	3. Chapter 3

The problem with having Pyrrha Nikos as your girlfriend was that it was very, _very_ hard to plan a date.

This was especially troublesome for Ruby at moment considering she was trying to plan one with the aforementioned redhead in mind. _Okay, that's not completely true; it's very easy because she agrees to literally everything._ It was true; no matter what Ruby planned, her tall girlfriend always, _always_ cheerfully agreed to it. She always said something positive about the date not matter what happened.

At first Ruby thought she was really good at planning dates, _after all Pyrrha said she liked them all._ However it got a point where Ruby realized that Pyrrha always said the same thing; that she'd enjoy the date regardless of what happened during it.

 _Maybe she just doesn't want to hurt my feelings?_

It was a distinct possibility; Pyrrha was just that kind of person after all. _That, or she is just humouring me..._ Ruby thought glumly. The glumness morphed into something else however, as a fierce glint entered Ruby's eyes.

 _No matter!_ Determination gleamed in Ruby's silver eyes. _I have a date that will knock her socks off!_

… _actually does she wear socks?_ Now that Ruby thought about it, she had never necessarily seen Pyrrha wearing socks. _That doesn't precisely mean that she doesn-_ Ruby shook her head. _I can't get distracted! I have to take Pyrrha on the best date ever!_

* * *

 _That was the worst date ever_. Ruby thought as she leaned against Pyrrha's shoulder on the airbus ride home, trying to hide her shame. The date had been an unmitigated disaster.

 _How did I screw up this badly?_ Thinking back, Ruby had approached the problem by asking for advice from her teammates;

Weiss had merely said "Make it expensive and Mistral. Pyrrha probably misses Mistrialian things."

To Ruby, that made sense; after all Beacon academy was a long way from Pyrrha's hometown or even continent. The only thing that was Mistralian at Beacon was the 'Mistralian mystery meat' that the cafeteria occasionally served which Pyrrha had made it a point that authentic Mistralian mystery meat was far more mysterious and horrible tasting.

 _Maybe I could take her out to a fancy Mistrialian restaurant?_ The problem with that idea was Ruby didn't have a lot of spending money. That wasn't to say she _wouldn't_ spend every spare lien on Pyrrha, it's just she had none to spare. In hindsight a fancy Mistrialian restaurant would have been a far better date.

Yang's advice had been the most useless. "Look, you like Pyrrha, Pyrrha likes you. Don't think too much further than that. It doesn't really matter what you do at that point - instead, just enjoy yourselves in whatever you do end up doing"

 _That sounds great and all, but that reaaaally doesn't help me plan for a date_. So basically it was useless. _Great, thanks Yang._

Blake had given her cryptic advice as well; "You need to proclaim your eternal adoration" before going back to her book.

This was where the issues started.

Trying to combine 'Mistralian things' with 'proclaiming her feelings to Pyrrha' had been hard, but Ruby had figured it out. All with the helping hand of the Dustnet.

A Mistralian Karaoke restaurant.

Things had been going well at the start; Pyrrha was excited when Ruby led her into the place, the table Ruby had reserved was still there, their server was nice, the food was good and Ruby was always happy to spend time with Pyrrha. Then came the karaoke.

 _I… I didn't think there were so many people here._ It made Ruby feel dizzy as she got up on the stage, the establishment's small array of lights focused on her. She'd picked a love song to sing to – _after all, how else would do I proclaim my feelings for Pyrrha?_ – but now she felt embarrassed in front of the crowd. _I was hoping there'd just be Pyrrha and not everyone else._

When the music started and the words started appear Ruby had tried to her best to follow along. Problematically the nervousness she was feeling translated her voice into a small squeak. _I'm surprised they didn't boo me off the stage…_

"Pyrrha." Ruby mumbled, finally emerging from hiding her shame.

"Hm?" Emerald eyes looked down at her.

"That was a disaster…" Ruby couldn't look Pyrrha in the eyes, so great was her shame. "I really shouldn't have picked a karaoke place…."

"No it wasn't!" Pyrrha shook her head, nearly wacky Ruby in the face with her ponytail. "I had a grand time!"

"You're just saying that." Ruby pouted as she whined. "You're just trying to make me feel better."

"To coin an oft used expression…" Pyrrha gave Ruby a silly grin, much to the younger girl's confusion. "Nope~!"

"But you always say you have fun…"

"That's because I do." Ruby felt herself being pulled onto Pyrrha's lap – the older girl holding onto Ruby to keep her from falling off - the emerald eyes never leaving her own silver eyes. "Ruby, I always have fun because I'm on a date with _you_. It doesn't matter what we do as long as you're with me." A beautiful smile graced Pyrrha's face. "You're my girlfriend, of course I'll have fun."

Ruby gave a stupidly big grin to her girlfriend as her cheeks turned tomato red. "How did I get such a kickass girlfriend?"

Instead of responding with words Pyrrha gave her a quick peck on the lips but not fully pulling away – their foreheads pressed against each other – before whispering. "Because you are you, and I love you, that's why."

"Oh…" Ruby could feel heat rising in her cheeks in the face of that smile. "Um. Is this point where I kiss you or is th-mmph!"

* * *

AU: I've never actually been to any kind of karaoke place.

In the original draft, Ruby took Pyrrha to a maid cafe... that has been changed. I do, however, have a omake from that below the author's note, enjoy! New chapter of Spoon Equality next Friday if I don't have ch 15 of Acceptance done - I'm getting close, just editing left now.

Thanks for reading and a have a great day! :D

* * *

Omake:

"What'd Blake give you as advice?"

Ruby shrugged as she looked out the window. "She said 'you need to be kawaii in street but senpai in the sheets', dunno what that means."

When Ruby looked back, Pyrrha was giving her an expression reminiscent of _that_ night – a smoldering, burning look. "You can be my senpai _any_ night…"


	4. Chapter 4

Pyrrha had never encountered an obstacle as great in her life as this.

She could feel the fear as her heart rate rose, the start of cold sweat forming on her brow, the terror facing her. The accusation in those silver eyes… Pyrrha Nikos was scared.

 _It had started off so innocently too…_

* * *

Ruby had fall asleep on Pyrrha's lap.

After a long day of classes and training, the two red heads had decided to cuddle on the couch and watch a movie to unwind before sleep. They had gotten to the middle of it when Pyrrha started to hear the soft snores of her girlfriend through the noises of the movie. No big deal, happens all the time; Ruby eventually has a point in the day where she just crashes. Pyrrha didn't mind it one bit, in fact she loved sleepy snuggles with her adorable girlfriend.

Pyrrha didn't mind in the least when Ruby turned her body slightly to get more comfortable. That action in it of itself was fine. What was not fine was that an unyielding objects was now poking her in the stomach. Pyrrha definitely minded that.

Rolling Ruby over gently, so as to not wake her, Pyrrha was fairly easily able to figure what was causing her to feel poked in the stomach.

Crescent Rose.

The weapon was still belted to Ruby's waist. _I forgot she was still wearing it._ It had slipped Pyrrha's mind that they had yet to change into their pajamas. _  
_

While it was true that ever huntress and huntsmen felt a certain affinity with their weapon – Pyrrha being no exception – Ruby took it a step further. Pyrrha's girlfriend referred to Crescent Rose as her 'sweetheart' and spent a lot longer than then most other students did fiddling with her weapon. The fact it bore her last name came to no surprise to anyone that knew her. It was as if Crescent Rose was part of Ruby's family.

If Pyrrha was being completely honest she could admit that she felt… jealous towards Crescent Rose. As absurd as it is to feel jealous towards an inanimate object, she was definitely more than a bit envious of it. _After all, she spends more time with it then me and gave it her last name…_

"Pyrrhhaaaaaaaaa…" Ruby whined as Pyrrha held her in an odd way to see the source of her discomfort. I must have woken her up. "I was comfy."

"Sorry." Pyrrha rolled Ruby back to her spot… only to remember there had been a reason for rolling her over in the first place. "Say, Ruby…"

"Huh?" Ruby mumbled, still half asleep. "What's up?"

"Could you take off Crescent Rose?"

"Why'd would I do that?" Silver eyes looking quite awake stared at Pyrrha.

It was at that point the fear started to set in. All the fears that she haboured started to prey on her mind _. Oh no, what if she thinks I'm trying to get rid of it? Or that I'm envious of it – which is true_. Pyrrha was fretting over the connotations while Ruby curiously stared at her girlfriend. _I'm not trying to replace it, I just don't want to get poked, but will Ruby see that? Okay, no, that's a small lie. I'm just a little envious of it is all. And its poking me in the side.  
_

Silver eyes that bore into Pyrrha's head as she tried to come up with a reason. Eventually she was able to put out a few inelegant words.

"Because… it's… poking me in the side?"

Ruby, much to Pyrrha's surprise, set Crescent Rose down, off the couch, before latching on to Pyrrha's arm. She stared up at Pyrrha's shocked face with a confused expression. "What?"

"I thought Crescent Rose was you're sweetheart…"

"Yea…?" Ruby looked at her as if Pyrrha had said the most obvious thing. "So what?"

"So why did- I mean that's to say, um. Um." Pyrrha was having a hard time with words. "You didn't have to let go of it…"

Instead of answering with words, Ruby gave Pyrrha a lazy kiss before settling back into Pyrrha's lap. As Ruby nestled into a comfortable spot in the soft glow of the television - while keeping a hold of her arm, fingers entwined with hers' - Pyrrha could barely hear Ruby mumble.

"I'd much rather hold you."

* * *

AU: Okay first, the 'accusation in the eyes' was entirely perceived on Pyrrha's part. Ruby was just like "I'm half awake and my better half is asking me something and I'm curious."

Next is that yeah, this is of lesser quality. I honestly feel somewhat unhappy with this chapter; my goal was to make Pyrrha freak out about because she thought she was making Ruby choose between her and Crescent Rose while ultimately Ruby is like "huh?"

SORRY FOR NOT GETTING THIS DONE YESTERDAY! I honestly thought I'd get it done on Tuesday or Thursday but Tuesday was "I'm going to work on chapter 16 of Acceptance" while Thursday, Friday and most of today has turned into "SHADOW OF MORDOR TIME!"

If you like Pyrrha/Ruby a story I commissioned for momoxtoshiro just posted yesterday!

Editing should be done for chapter 15 of Acceptance by Friday, expect an update then! Until then, have a great day everyone!

P.S. Have a silly omake!

* * *

Omake:

"So you're saying you aren't open to…"

Pyrrha clicked her tongue in frustration. She loved the girl to death but this was a bit… much.

"I mean if you don't wa-a-ant to… just…. Um, p-p-pretend I never said anything?" Ruby nervously stuttered.

"No, no, no!" Pyrrha shook her head to put her girlfriend at ease. "I'm just trying to figure how to tell people that I'm in a relationship with you _and_ Crescent..."


	5. Chapter 5

Ruby was worried.

 _I shouldn't be worried, it's probably nothing._ Yet the fact that she hadn't received word from team JNPR, from Pyrrha was causing her to worry.

Team JNPR had been sent on a mission past the city limits, past the safety of the kingdom of Vale. It was part of the job of being a huntress. Sure, Ruby worried every time Pyrrha left on a mission, but she was confident in her girlfriend's abilities, after all she is Pyrrha 'Invincible Girl' Nikos. She could handle herself.

What made this time different was that Ruby hadn't been able to get a hold of Pyrrha since JNPR's airship had landed in Grimm territory. Like at all. As in total lack of communications. When Ruby tried to call Pyrrha's scroll, it didn't even ring and Ruby just got 'the number you dialed is unavailable' message. _Maybe Pyrrha just forgot to charge her scroll, she is forgetful in sometimes_. So Ruby had called Jaune's scroll with the same result. Same with Nora and Ren.

Naturally Ruby had turned to her partner, especially considering how much the Schnee Dust Corporation was invested in communication technology. Weiss had provided a helpful pamphlet to Ruby… which had only raised more questions. One thing led to another and Weiss did a few calls before she was able to give Ruby an answer.

"It means the scrolls are either out of power or destroyed."

It wasn't unusual for someone to lose a scroll while on a mission, or to have it turned off. Sometimes it just wasn't possible to turn it on or they were required to have radio silence. _But Pyrrha had promised she'd call me…_

The mission in question that JNPR was on was a long one, projected for nearly a week long. True, team RWBY was on their own mission, but theirs had been a mission that did not take that far from the walls of Vale and hadn't been anywhere near as involved as the mission to Mountain Glenn.

This only made the wait harder for Ruby without anything to do. Classes were on hold for a week and a half until the last teams made it back. So without anything else to occupy her, Ruby as just left with her worry.

All of her teammates had given suggestions; Weiss had suggested getting ahead on schoolwork, a logical but very unappealing prospect. Yang had suggested immersing herself in the news Call of Dust game, Ruby was having trouble finding motivation to get into another one – _I swear they come out with a new one every year._ Blake, however, had suggested reading some books.

Which is why Ruby found herself in the library, reading a book without actually comprehending it as her mind. In truth, the book was actually one of her favourites, one that Yang had used to read to her when she was growing up. Yet it held no appeal to her now, the words offering no comfort.

 _When is Pyrrha going to get back?_

It was the thought that occupied her mind. As it stood, team JNPR was due to arrive back yesterday, yet the lack of Pyrrha to hug meant they had not. _How much later are they going to be? Couldn't one of them found a scroll or a charger?_

Ruby couldn't acknowledge the other possibility. _Pyrrha is a champion, of course she is okay! She has to be…_

The girl shook her head, trying to get the thoughts to leave her. _She has her team, Pyrrha is going to be fine... Eeeeexcept I can't get a hold of them either._ Ruby's mind was going to a dark place as her thoughts continued to spiral out of control. _Pyrrha has her partner right? Jaune would definitely be able to keep her safe- who am I kidding, Jaune couldn't save a fly. But its Pyrrha… Pyrrha is always alright!_

Ruby felt a chill creep through her body. _What if she isn't alright? What if… what if she is stuck in the middle of the wastes, all alone, her teammates are gone and she can't call for help. What if… what if she never comes home?_ Ruby quailed at the thought.

A chair squeaked as some sat down at her table, Ruby barely glancing at the person before returning to her brooding and attempts at reading. The long swishing ponytail meant it was Weiss, _I hope she isn't going to tell me to study again._

Ruby tried bury her nose further into the book, intent on blocking out her teammate's attempts to get her to study. _I'm not in the mood for i-_

"Boop."

Ruby felt a finger poke her in the nose, before automatically responding.

"Hey Pyrrha."

 _Wait._

Ruby did a double take; there was Pyrrha, looking slightly worse for wear, but definitely there. Dark circles under her eyes but the warmth of the smile, the long red hair, the beautiful emerald eyes…

The smile turned into a slight frown as Pyrrha pouted. "I don't get hugs? Is it because I didn't ca-oomph!"

Ruby tackled Pyrrha, knocking her off her chair, her small arms locking into a death grip around Pyrrha, as she latched onto the bigger girl, the chairs clattering as they fell over. Pyrrha hesitantly hugged back, surprise etched into her face at suddenly being pounced.

That surprised morphed into concern as she felt Ruby trembling. "R-Ruby are you okay?"

"N-n-no…" Now with Pyrrha back, Ruby felt a week's worth of worry start flow out as tears trickled down her face. "I m-m-missed you."

"Oh Ruby…" Pyrrha returned the hug, pulling Ruby against her as tight as she could. Ruby felt lovingly crushed in the embrace. "I missed you too."

They stayed like that for long minutes, Ruby gripping onto Pyrrha as a life line, while Pyrrha cradled the shaking Ruby against her. "I…I was really worried." Ruby finally pulled enough out of the embrace to look directly into Pyrrha's eyes, their noses touching. "How come you didn't call?"

"Nora… may have packed a considerable amount of syrup in the baggage. Syrup, that I might add, was not securely contained." Pyrrha gave a forced laugh. "Scrolls, it would seem, are not syrup-proof."

Ruby knew she should be angry at Nora. That she should feel something. Instead she felt nothing towards the girl in question.

Ruby was just happy to have her champion back.

* * *

AU: Fun fact, since team JNPR's scrolls are destroyed (or ruined by syrup) they can't get into their room which means party at team RWBY's room!

Hopefully this chapter turned out better than the last one!

Expect a Dilation chapter later today followed by chapter 15 of Acceptance! – Got to start this month with a… yang! Eh? _EH?!_

Quick question for you guys, but what do you think Ruby and Pyrrha would call each other, like terms of endearment?

Have a great day!

* * *

Omake:

"Boop."

Ruby felt a finger poke her in the nose, before automatically responding.

"Hey Pyrrha."

 _Wait._

Even as Ruby's sight sped towards the source of the boop, a resounding BOOM could be heard as Nora burst out of the wall "THAT'S MY LINE!"


	6. Chapter 6

Pyrrha was woken up by an elbow to the face, not the most pleasant of ways to be woken up.

As much as Pyrrha may have disliked the method of being awoken she saw why it had happened almost immediately: Ruby was shaking, covered in cold sweat, rolling back and forth in the bed. All in all, signs of having a nightmare. Then Ruby started muttering. "Pyrrha… Don't go…"

"Ruby." Pyrrha gently shook her girlfriend. It made sense to wake her up; after all that meant less time her smaller half was being tormented by whatever dream she was having. "Ruby, please wake up."

Ruby calmed down, the fidgeting going away as her eyes blearily opened. "Huh?" As her eyes focused on Pyrrha the sleepiness in them left as tears stared to form. "P-Pyrrha… you-u-u're..."

"Shhh" Pyrrha pulled Ruby into her lap, the younger girl clutching her tightly, her head nestled in the crook of Pyrrha's neck. "I'm here."

Pyrrha didn't move, just sat there, listening to the sound of Ruby's erratic breathing begin to steady. When her girlfriend finally stopped trembling, Pyrrha posed a question. "Nightmare?"

Ruby just nodded into the crook of Pyrrha's neck, content with being silent.

Pyrrha frowned. Ruby had nightmares on occasion, so did everyone – even herself. That was just how life went. That didn't mean she was going to worry any less about Ruby. Yet she didn't want to push it any further than it already was – Pyrrha didn't want to open whatever the nightmare had done to Ruby if she could get away with it.

Minutes passed before Ruby finally spoke.

"I…I dreamed t-t-that yo-o-ou were…were… that you were de-e-ead."

A fresh bout of tears started to flow as Ruby's breathing lost its stability. Pyrrha reflexively hugged Ruby tighter into the embrace at the sight. For her own part, Ruby held onto her with a strength that would have made Yang quite proud – although I hope I don't crack a rib, ow.

"Ruby, I'm fine." Pyrrha pulled back. It tugged on her heart to see her girlfriend, her personal little rose crying. "Nothing happened."

"I w-w-was really worried when y-y-you didn't call." Ruby sniffled, her lip wobbling, clearly putting up a heroic effort to not start crying again. "I kinda still am."

"I'm not going anywhere Ruby, I promise." Taking the opportunity to pull Ruby back to her via hug, Pyrrha listened to Ruby's erratic breathing. When it finally calmed down she spoke. "Do you want to try and go back to sleep?" Ruby numbly nodded, letting Pyrrha pulled her back down to the bed. It wasn't long, as Pyrrha worriedly listened to her girlfriend's breathing, until Ruby fell asleep.

Despite worrying for her smaller half, Pyrrha soon found herself almost being lulled into sleep by Ruby's rhythmic breathing. Almost.

Ruby nudged her softly, bringing the girl back from the edge of unconsciousness. "Pyrrha?"

"Hm?"

"I can't sleep." Ruby groaned.

"I could get you some warm milk, that helps, right?"

Pyrrha saw Ruby shake her head – or rather felt it the mass of hair under chin shaking. "I don't think it'll help." Pyrrha frowned, _I don't like not being able to do anything for my rose. I can protect her, but I can't protect her from nightmares._

"Can I… um… be the big spoon tonight?"

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow as Ruby continued. "That way I know you aren't gone 'cause I'm holding you n'stuff." The sheets rustled as Ruby turned around to face her. "Please?" Even in the low light of the darkened room, Pyrrha could clearly see the large silver eyes carrying a pleading quality. It made the choice, well, not much of a choice.

Wordlessly, Pyrrha rolled over, as she felt arms reach around her mid-riff before clasping around her. Taking one of them into her own hands, she intertwined her fingers' with Ruby's as she waited. Waited until Ruby's breathing had become stable, until the soft snores of her girlfriend could be heard.

 _I'll be the little spoon for Ruby any night if it means my rose can sleep._

* * *

AU: Poor Ruby was still shaken up. She was really scared for Pyrrha.

I'm feeling iffy on this chapter… was it good? Bad? Just kinda meh?

So while I was in the dark corner of finally getting around to Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood and studying (I have a paper I still need to write this weekend and 17 hours of work at job, wheee), APPEARENTLY STUFF STARTED TO HAPPEN, YAY SEASON THREE?

I normally try and get this out every Friday and _Dilation_ out during the weekend, but pardon me this week, I'll get both out next week, hopefully!

As for _Acceptance_ , currently I'm up to about 2.7k words for it. It is looking to be about 4,000 words long, possibly 4,500 words. Progress will speed up when I don't have a massive amount of work!

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

* * *

Omake:

"So what was going last night?"

Pyrrha regarded Yang, setting down her morning tea as Ruby started to chug a glass of milk down. "Ruby had a bad nightmare."

"So you're saying there wasn't any er… elicit activities going on?" Pyrrha shook her head quickly causing Yang to give a sigh of relief. "Thank the deity, the way your bed was creaking last night, I thought you two were doing the nasty all last night."

It was in that moment that Pyrrha was grateful she had set down her tea as she gave an involuntary snort at the comment. Ruby on the other hand was not so fortunate; milk spewed straight out. Less fortunate was the person sitting across from Ruby; Yang.

"My hair!"


	7. Chapter 7

Pyrrha wasn't very good at video games.

It wasn't from a lack of trying, sweet Oum, it wasn't from a lack of trying. Given how much Ruby enjoyed them, Pyrrha had tried her hand at quite a number of them, content that at the worst, it was a way to spend more time with her smaller, better half.

It was just that she didn't have the best reflexes when it came to games or really have any history with gaming. Growing up as a tournament victor didn't give Pyrrha many chances to do leisurely activities. Like playing video games. Ruby on the other hand grew up with Yang and spent more time then what was probably healthy blowing up fascist zombies.

When Ruby had first introduced her to gaming, it had been a handheld game called 'Animal Crossing'. That had been easy enough and relaxing to Pyrrha, so she had started to branch out. Portal II had been the next thing, although she had mixed results with that. Ruby suggested a fighting game next, Aura Calibur III.

Which is how Pyrrha found herself, strewn on a couch, Ruby laying across her, on a Saturday night, getting her sash-covered-ass handed to her. For the twenty eighth time. In a row.

"I win~" Ruby's voice had a victorious sing song quality to it as she turned towards Pyrrha, her eyes twinkling. "You know what that means."

Pyrrha did indeed know, it means I'm the little spoon tonight. In the weeks since Ruby's nightmare – and getting elbowed in the face – Pyrrha had been the little spoon quite often. It wasn't something she minded all that much, especially since Ruby had slept like a rock – _perhaps too well even; it's hard to get up for an early morning jog when your girlfriend is holding you down._ The nightmares had seemingly abated however, and they returned to their normal way of settling who the big spoon is: games.

 _I'm not going to be the little spoon again tonight, not if I can help it!_ Pyrrha wasn't going to admit defeat so easily. _I'm not the Invincible Girl for nothing! I could beat her if I have one more chance_! "Double or nothing."

Ruby cocked her head, her smirk wavering. "Huh? I won so that means I get to be the big spoon…"

"I think I might be able to win the next round and so," Pyrrha paused for dramatic effect as silver eyes stared curiously at her own emerald ones. "I'm going to wager… next night's game as well." It was a risky gamble on Pyrrha's part, especially since she still hadn't won a game of it yet against Ruby.

"I...um… are you sure?" Pyrrha nodded. "Alright then!" Confidence was clear in Ruby's voice. "You are _on_! Best of five rounds then."

Silence permeated the air as the two picked their characters; Ruby sticking with the guy wielding a scythe while Pyrrha picked the character bearing a similar fighting style to her own, Cassandra.

The first round went to Pyrrha surprisingly, even herself shocked at it. The second round ended quickly as well; a lucky ring out within the first ten seconds. Pyrrha couldn't help but feel proud at the victories, _all I need is one more! Just one more!_

The success story ended there, as Ruby got her groove back. The third round was close, with barely a visible sliver of health left for Ruby. Conversely the fourth match was just Pyrrha being stomped into the ground, _I don't even think I got a single hit in…_

It was 2 – 2 now, match point.

 _I can't lose now, I'm so close!_ Pyrrha wasn't going to lose this _, I'm going to be the big spoon!_ Yet within seconds, her character was getting pushed closer and closer to the ledge for an easy ring out.

 _It can't end like this. It won't end like this!_

Pyrrha glanced at Ruby, her eyes alight, solely focused at her seemingly imminent victory, oblivious to all that was going on around her, even oblivious to Pyrrha. It gave Pyrrha an idea. A rather... _devious_ idea.

"It looks like I'm gonna wi- hnngh!"

Ruby's words lost the ability to be understood as Pyrrha gave her a lingering kiss at the base of her neck. Then another, much longer one slightly higher up, the smaller girl trembling at Pyrrha's soft lips. The next kiss was faster and higher up her neck, the next three in quicker succession before they found their mark, meeting with Ruby's lips.

Pyrrha enjoyed kissing her girlfriend, making out with Ruby was something that she adored. True, Ruby was awkward sometimes with it and at first Pyrrha had thought she was pushing the boundaries too much, that Ruby wasn't enjoying it. The thought of making Ruby uncomfortable was a horrible thought for Pyrrha. So when she heard a controller clatter to ground and a pair of small hands cautiously thread through her hair - fingers meshing through her crimson hair - Pyrrha knew Ruby was quite comfortable indeed.

Pulling Ruby against her with one hand was tricky, but the reward was immense, as soft lips eagerly pushed against her own, a tongue probing into her mouth. Time seemed to melt away as the two pressed against each other, a comfortable weight in Pyrrha's lap.

Like all things, it eventually came to an end, Ruby slowly, reluctantly pulling away from her, their eyes opening and staring deep into each other's. Pyrrha was getting lost in the silver pools, the intensity in them made Pyrrha feel like she was going to melt away. So fixated on them that Pyrrha nearly didn't notice them start to close the distance, eyelids starting to close, hiding those silver orbs from the worl-

"Player One defeated!"

Those eyelids sprang open, silver eyes darting around in confusion, the glint disappearing as she looked at the source of the sudden sound, the TV, then back to Pyrrha as the taller girl tried to hide the largest shit-eating-grin she ever had. "I do believe I've won."

Ruby kept staring at Pyrrha, confusion still etched in her. Until Pyrrha's hand that wasn't holding onto her girlfriend came into view, still holding a controller.

"Wha… wha… t-t-that's c-cheat-mmph!"

* * *

AU: This was actually supposed to be the second chapter. Devious!Pyrrha doesn't like to lose and the easiest way to beat Ruby is with kisses. And Cookies. For those of you who are curious, she kept hitting the square button the ENTIRE time.

 _Acceptance's_ progress was stalled for a while due to real world things, I'll see how much of it I can get done this weekend!

I'll try and do a _Dilation_ chapter tomorrow!


	8. Chapter 8

"Would you like to try using Milo and Akoúo̱?"

"Can I?!"

It was true that Ruby had a rather… large interest in weapons, and it was equally true that she'd been staring at her girlfriend's weapons more than her girlfriend herself… and perhaps drooling just a tad.

It wasn't that Ruby hadn't held the weapons before, but more along the lines of having never tried to use them before. In theory she knew how the weapons worked. _This should be easy!_ Tying the bracer to her left arm, and tightening her grip on Milo, Ruby was ready.

Pressing a button, a door-like panel opened up, as a training drone came out, a spindly metal frame in a shape of a humanoid. _It's only set to level one._ Ruby grinned at the lumbering robot _. How hard could it be?_

A matter of seconds later, Ruby found herself on the floor, the drone standing over her while Pyrrha stopped the training exercise. _Ow, that hurt._ Looking down at Milo, Ruby couldn't help but feel betrayed. _Where did I go wrong?_

It'd been a while since Ruby had last tried to use something other than her sweetheart, in fact, she hadn't used another weapon since she had made Crescent Rose. _But it was only level one, which should have been really REALLY easy._ "I guess I just suck." Ruby muttered dejectedly.

"You don't suck!" Ruby felt a strong hand pulled her up, her girlfriend pulling her to her feet. "I'm sure that it was just fluke, I know you could do it next time!" Ruby could feel a blush rising as Pyrrha gave her encouragement. "Do you want to try again?"

"I think I'm going to sit this one out." Ruby sheepishly admitted, her face red with embarrassment. "Do you wanna go again? I can take these off…" Ruby started to fumble with the bracer tied to her arm.

"No no, it's quite alright!" Pyrrha made a calming motion with her hands. "I've gotten enough practice with Milo and Akoúo today."

"Oh." That makes sense, we've been here for three hours after all. A thought occurred to Ruby. "W-w-would you want to try with…" Ruby's voice became nearly inaudible "Crescent Rose."

Pyrrha's emerald eyes widened, her mouth opening in shock. "Are you sure?" Pyrrha glanced towards the combat scythe. "I thought you didn't want others to touch your sweetheart."

Pyrrha wasn't wrong; Ruby reaaaaally didn't like others touching Crescent Rose. Yet… "I trust you though…"

The champion's mouth closed before forming into a smile.

* * *

Ruby was starting to have second thoughts.

On one hand, she was quite happy that a girlfriend felt so honoured to use her weapon. On the other hand it was eerie to watch Pyrrha swing around Crescent Rose with an easy that Ruby even felt envious of, as she decimated the level 39 exercise.

 _I mean she IS Pyrrha Nikos after all, why wouldn't she be great with my sweetheart. It's not as if it took me a month with my Uncle Qrow to even figure out how to hold it properly. Or that I couldn't even take down the easiest exercise with a simple sword. Nope._

It was a sickly feeling towards that was welling up in Ruby as she watched Pyrrha swing the scythe with a level of grace. A level of skill that no newcomer to one of the deadliest weapons in the world she be able to exhibit. _Pyrrha really earned the title of Invincible Girl, didn't she?_ Ruby knew it was true; she had seen her girlfriend go through hordes of Grimm like a hot knife through butter, but it was times like these that it really sunk into Ruby's mind just how truly deadly Pyrrha was. How adaptable she was. How beautiful.

It fed the fuel to that feeling as it built up in the pit of Ruby's stomach. The flames were stoked as Ruby watched Pyrrha continue to level 44 with the same ease as it had been when she had been using her own weapons. _It's my sweetheart, why is she so good with it?_ As the feeling rose up in her, Ruby could finally put a name to it.

Jealously.

The moment Ruby realized what it was, the feeling abated, vanishing into the dusky recesses of her mind as a new feeling replaced it.

Shame.

Shame at feeling jealous of her girlfriend, shame at having such petty thoughts about Pyrrha. The shame of feeling jealous of the girl who gave Ruby her heart. Ruby slowly started to trudge towards the exit.

"Ruby." The teen felt strong arms close around her shoulders, before locking around her mid-section as something warm pressed up against her back, stopping her progress to the door. Lips gently kissed the top of Ruby's head before a concerned voice spoke. "What's wrong?"

"I…" Ruby melted into the embrace as she tried to calm down enough to speak. "I suck."

"No you don't." Pyrrha's grip on Ruby tightened as she spoke, almost painfully so. "You do not suck. You are actually really cool."

Ruby shook her head as much as she could given how tightly Pyrrha was holding onto her. "I-I-I couldn't even h-h-hit the drone. A-a-at level one." Ruby couldn't keep her lip from wobbling as tears traced their way down her face. "Y-Y-You didn't hav-v-ve any trouble at all with my weapon."

"That's because I watch you use it every day." Pyrrha loosened the embrace before slowly turning Ruby around. "Plus, since it's so important to you, I may have looked up a book or two on how the theory behind it." The older teen shyly admitted. "And whenever Crescent Rose started to slip out of my hand, I could just pull it back with my semblance."

"Oh." Ruby couldn't help but to stare at her girlfriend. "Y-y-you actually looked up how to…?" Pyrrha gave a quick nod. "Oh." A blush started to spread across Ruby's face.

"It's not exactly fair to say that I didn't have an advantage; you just need practice is all." Pyrrha thought for a moment before giving a snap of the fingers and giving Ruby a smile. "I could give you some tips on how to use Milo and Akoúo if you want?"

Spending time with her girlfriend, while said girlfriend taught her how to use her weapons? Ruby couldn't help but smile.

"That would be awesome!"

* * *

AU: Have some feels to start off your Friday!

I know it's been a few weeks since I last updated Spoon Equality and I'm really REALLY sorry! D: I've just been bust with real life as of late.

A special thanks to Super Saiyan Cyndaquil for supplying the prompt for this chapter!

Seeing as it's the first Friday of the month… whooooooo wants some more Pyrruby in a few hours, i.e. _Acceptance_? Any takers out there? :D

As always, thank you all for reading the story! It really does mean a lot to me! Expect _Dilation_ in a handful of hours and _Acceptance_ an hour after that!

P.S. Oddly enough, this felt more like the early chapters of Acceptance, stylistically. Dunno if that's the case, what'd you guys and gals think?

P.S.S. Have two omakes!

* * *

Omake 1:

"I could always give you some lessons…?"

"Would… would they be private?" Ruby didn't want her teammates seeing her failing so badly with a weapon. "Like private lessons?"

Pyrrha's face turned red. "I-I-I guess we could have some private lessons."

"Great!" Ruby beamed at Pyrrha. "Just make sure no one finds out!"

As Ruby left, she didn't notice the nearly ruby red blush on Pyrrha's face, nor her muttering "This all happened so fast…"

* * *

Omake 2:

Pyrrha had of course learned everything there was to know about combat scythes, but for another reason she hadn't divulged to Ruby. Staring down at the forgotten scythe, a single thought protruded into Pyrrha's mind.

Know thy enemy.

Pyrrha had followed that maxim to a T. _I must know my enemy in the continuing battle for my rose's heart!_


	9. Chapter 9

Ruby couldn't help but feel her face flush red as she walked towards the cafeteria.

It wasn't because she was holding hands with her girlfriend, it wasn't that at all. There was no way she was going to be embarrassed by that. No, it was the series of marks along her neck, the signs of a rather eventful night. They were the result of Pyrrha's lips pressed against her skin just a second too long. _Or not long enough…_

It wasn't that Ruby was ashamed of them, no not in the slightest; it was a sign of a level of trust between her and Pyrrha, as well as a reminder of their moments. It was almost like a physical mark of Pyrrha on her. _It's also a sign that Pyrrha is a dirty cheater at video games!_

The problem was it gave Yang a boat load of ammunition to tease her.

Which was why Ruby's hood was pulled over her head, strategically placed so Yang would never even have a chance to see the marks. _This will most definitely work!_

Taking a seat at the table, with Pyrrha closely behind her, Ruby took one bite of her morning cookie before Yang looked over. "So, it looks like you two had fun last night."

"We did." Pyrrha had a warm smile on her face as she looked at Ruby. "Although, it'd seem I'm rather bad at video games."

"Oh really?" Yang gave a mischievous smirk at Pyrrha before glancing back to Ruby. "Doesn't seem to have hurt the fun, especially since Rubes' neck is redder than her cape."

In Ruby's rush to consume all of the cookies placed before, her hood had fallen off much to Yang's amusement.

"Yaaaaang!" Ruby knew her face had turned bright red as she tried her best to stop existing, pulling her hood over her head to hide the beet-red blush she had. A time-tested method of 'if I can't see them, they can't see me' approach.

What she didn't see was the Pyrrha's smile turn into a frown.

* * *

"Ruby?"

Ruby lazily lifted her head out up from her girlfriend's lap. "What's up?"

"Do you… are you…" Pyrrha trailed off. Huh, that's weird, Ruby slowly roused herself awake. "Are you ashamed of what we do?"

"What?! I'm not ashamed of you!" Ruby was most definitely awake as she looked at her better half. "Why… why would I ever be ashamed of you?!"

"I don't know." Pyrrha said simply, a frown in place of her usual smile –a worrisome thing to see for Ruby. "I just… when you hide the hickeys I just feel… sad. Are you ashamed of them? We don't have to do them any more…"

"I'm not ashamed!" Ruby blurted out. "I… I just don't like Yang teasing me…."

"Oh." Ruby could tell Pyrrha was trying to process what to say next. "I really don't mind not doing it, then Yang wouldn't be able to tease you about them."

"No, I really do like it when you do that." Ruby shook her head before groaning. "I guess I just need to get used to being teased about it." Sighing, Ruby flopped back down onto Pyrrha's lap. "Stupid hood falling off…"

"You know, I wouldn't be adverse to you giving me some."

"Buh-wha?"

"Well." Even in the dim light of early morning, Ruby could see Pyrrha blush as she spoke. "You could always give me a hickey o-o-or a couple!" Pyrrha's face was a very deep red, almost crimson, now as Ruby stared, flabbergasted, at her. "…that way you aren't the only one being teased in the morning, right?"

Ruby couldn't help but gawk at Pyrrha. "I…Wha… huh?" Words were not Ruby's friend today, as she struggled to put thought into words.

"I just… wouldn't mind t-nhnnn"

Of all things, it was Pyrrha's reaction that surprised Ruby the most.

Pyrrha was trembling.

It was something quite unlike what Ruby had expected, the older girl trembling as Ruby lightly sucked on her neck. For some reason she thought that the champion would just be unmoving under the slight pressure. It was the opposite actually, as Ruby could feel muscles flex and strain. It was the opposite of their usual dynamic; Ruby felt in control as Pyrrha made a small, but definitely happy noise. The noise made Ruby relax, it stripped away her concern about hurting Pyrrha and instead let her focus on marking her.

Pyrrha was at her mercy, the powerful huntress, the Invincible Girl herself, was at Ruby's mercy as her lips marked the teen as her own. Ruby could feel Pyrrha press against her, all while craning her neck to allow Ruby better access as red bruises slowly trailing up it.

It was exhilarating.

It may have been a few seconds or a few hours, but time seemed to flow slowly as Ruby moved up Pyrrha's neck, giving each spot a little kiss before moving up. A gradual, creeping climb upwards, almost delectably slow.

Inevitably, all good things came to an end, although not the end that Ruby thought it'd be.

"Are you two going to get out of bed or do I have t-to…" Weiss' voice trailed off at the sight of her partner and her partner's girlfriend necking.

Ruby could feel the heat rising in her cheeks as Pyrrha hesitantly addressed the retreating Weiss.

"Um. Goodbye?"

* * *

AU: Well that… was… a thing. Yeah.

Kinda a sequel to video game chapter and what have you. Pyrrha really just wanted to get marked up it'd seem. Also that was a bit more than, er lewd then I probably will ever do again. Yeah. Maybe. I dunno. Things, man, things. Was this chapter okay? I feel it was kinda... crap, to be honest X_X

For those who read my other Pyrrha/Ruby story, _Acceptance_ , –if you haven't, you should take a gander, its pretty good in my very bias opinion- I should be having the next chapter posted on the first Friday of December! :D I actually made enough progress that it looks feasible.

Episode 3 was just... yes. Quite possibly my favourite, tied with ep 5 of vol 2... although this episode was actually stronger overall.

New Dilation chapter tomorrow, before I forget! :D

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

P.S: I WAS GOING TO DO A OMAKE BUT FORGOT, NEXT TIME!


	10. Chapter 10

No one expected the power to go out for the dorms.

Beacon had a complex set of checks and double checks for its power system, including a backup generator, yet they all failed.

Normally it wouldn't matter much to the average student for two days; just watch some dustube videos on your scroll instead of on your computer. Then again, it normally wasn't -40 degrees outside and snowing. Similarly, most students didn't stay in Beacon during a semester break.

Understandably, Pyrrha was feeling quite cold.

There was no if-ands-or-buts about who got to be the big spoon the first night; Pyrrha had held onto her heat emitting girlfriend like it was her life-line –not that she was wrong in that assessment. Ruby meanwhile didn't complain much, after all, her own heat source was all around her. Even after the sun rose up, -for the few hours it did in the depths of winter- the two had stayed in a tightly locked pile of limbs covered with as many blankets as they could find, one of their scrolls streaming a movie to watch as they conserved heat.

Which is why Pyrrha found herself quite confused when Ruby started to struggle out of their pile of blankets. "Ruuuuuby." Pyrrha was comfortable and now her heating source/girlfriend was leaving… the champion tried her best to emulate an expression that Ruby gave her when they ran out of cookies; Pyrrha pouted. "Stoooop."

The wobbling lip stopped her heat source from moving, giving Pyrrha enough time to lock her arms back around a surprised Ruby. _Mine_. Pyrrha wasn't going to let go of her smaller half anytime soon; _it's far too cold out there both for her and me._ The thought of a cold Ruby made her hold the teen closer to her. _You aren't going anywhere._

"Pyrrhaaaaaaa, let go of me!" Ruby whined as she complacently let herself get pulled deep into the blanket pile.

Pyrrha shook her head. "Not going to happen, you'll freeze if you leave… and I don't want my rose to freeze!"

"Buuuut I think Blake left her Kotatsu here!"

"Gesundheit."

Ruby's expression scrunched up. "Weren't you here for when we used it last?"

"Used what last?"

"The kotatsu?"

"The what?"

"Ohhhh." Ruby nodded her head, much to Pyrrha's confusion. "Blake bought this really cool thing last winter… It's like… a heated… table? It's got a blanket over it and you sit so most of your body is under it."

"That sounds grand!" A heated anything right about now would be wonderful considering that dorm's heating unit wasn't working and all they had was their own body heat. "But the power is out… how would it work?"

"Well that's the neat thing." Ruby twisted around until her face was inches away from Pyrrha's, their noses touching. "Weiss modified it with fire dust so we didn't need to plug it in!" This was starting to sound like a very attractive idea to Pyrrha.

"That does sound convenient." Pyrrha had to agree, "And that would give far more warmth then just this…"

Pyrrha watched Ruby wiggle her way out of the blanket pile, unimpeded by her. At least until a thought occurred to her. Ruby didn't even get two feet away before Pyrrha's arms locked around her again. "Pyrrhaaaa, I thought you were okay wit-"

"I am." The champion interrupted. "I just want you to stay warm!" Grabbing as many blankets as she could, Pyrrha draped them over the pair. _We must look like some kind of blanket monster,_ "Now let's go."

* * *

"Ruby, are you certain it's not a foot-stool?"

Pyrrha couldn't help but be skeptical as she stared as she helped Ruby pull the odd looking device from behind a dresser. The piece of furniture looked like a very big foot stool, awkwardly big even. _I don't know what I was expecting, but I certainly expected it to be… taller?_

"Yup!" Ruby gently set the table down. "There are even chairs for it!" Pyrrha stared wide-eyed as her girlfriend pulled out a set of chairs that were missing their legs. "Here we go, one for you and one for me."

Pyrrha stared at them. _That's half of the chair… where is the rest?_ "Where's the rest of it?" Pyrrha gestured towards the 'chairs'.

"The rest of what?" Ruby gave Pyrrha a curious stare before setting it down next to the foot-stool - _I think she called it a Kotatsu?_ \- and sitting down on the chair without legs.

"Er, never mind." Gingerly grabbing hold of one of the chairs, she placed it next to Ruby before sitting in it. It feels like more of a bed if anything. Pyrrha felt awkward as her legs stuck out the other side of the blanket that was over it. "So you said it was heated…?"

"Uh-huh." Ruby scratched her head before fiddling with the rim of it. "I think the on button is right… here!" The device hummed to life, the sound of it quite loud in the relative silence of the dorm.

Pyrrha wasn't paying attention to that, but to the sudden influx of warmth that the table emitted.

As nice as it was to cuddle with Ruby under a pile of blankets, Pyrrha's dorm room had become quite cold over the course of the night since all the heat they had was body heat… but this… device, Kotatsu, was generating even more heat. Pyrrha melted at the sensation of artificial warmth. It felt heavenly.

"Uh Pyrrha?" Ruby's voice broke Pyrrha out of her daze.

"Hm?"

"I think you are supposed to sit at the table, not lay under it."

"Oops." In Pyrrha's daze, she'd slipped out of her half-chair and ended up underneath the table. After a moment, Pyrrha realized she didn't care. "It's quite comfortable under here." Yet it was missing something… the far more important heat source… the more natural one that Pyrrha had grown accustomed to.

"You look kinda silly down th-eep!"

Pyrrha pulled Ruby by the leg underneath it, until the teen was lying next to her. The girl had been far too focused at looking at Pyrrha that'd she not been ready for the sneak attack. "Now you look silly too."

Ruby wasn't noticing Pyrrha's teasing. "Its sooo warm!" Pyrrha giggled at Ruby's same reaction to it.

"I know, right?" After so long without a heater, Pyrrha was in awe of it, so was Ruby. "We should have used it sooner."

"But now we don't get to warm ourselves up with each other!" Ruby pouted at the taller teen. "That was the best part…"

Pyrrha felt a smile tug at her lips as she pulled Ruby against her, the short girl nestling against her as she had for the previous day. "You'll always be my heat source."

* * *

AU: Apparently I'm just all about dat cold.

Followed up a lewd chapter with a cute one… at least I hope it was cute.

Disclaimer: I have never used or seen a kotatsu before in my life. Okay I've seen pictures, but that doesn't count.

It's funny, I asked Super Saiyan Cyndaquil for a prompt, something disgustingly fluffy and he said them under a kotatsu. Fun fact; I wrote this when it was warm outside a few days ago. Currently its blizzard-ing. Second fun fact is that -40 is -40 regardless of Celsius or Fahrenheit. So it's very appropriate: P

Sadly my account has been completely locked out from Roosterteeth, so I wasn't able to see the World of Remnant episode, although I heard what it was about. On the plus side, I did get into the BETA for Grimm Eclipse. I think I'm allowed to say "It was fun!" It also makes up for not getting to see the WoR episode me thinks.

Now off to work, gotta get through the snow and into the theater for opening weekend of the last Hunger Games movie. Why me?

Thanks for reading everyone! A new chapter of _Spoon Equality_ should be out next week!

P.S. The Omake I meant for the last chapter is at the bottom of this one! It reference another omake from a previous chapter I believe. Enjoy! :D

P.S.S. If I can wing it, I'll try for a _Dilation_ chapter tomorrow! If not, then Tuesday! Also _Acceptance_ was sent into the final phase of editing for next chapter, so it should be on time! :D

P.S.S.S. It doesn't matter who says what in the first omake, its equally true!

* * *

 **Omake:**

"Do you think we'd better in a hotel? We could have easily of gone to Vale and rented a room."

"Nope~, all I needed was you."

* * *

 **Omake:**

Ruby was happy that Pyrrha had tried to take the brunt of Yang's teasing. It really did show how much the champion cared for her – _or maybe she just really wanted to get a bunch of hickeys…_

Either way Ruby was more than happy to let Pyrrha take the teasing. Or at least until Pyrrha opened her mouth;

"Why yes Ruby gave these to me."

Ruby had to resist the urge to bury her beet-red face into her hood as her teammates and friends stared at her. Except for Weiss, she did see us this morning after all. Blake was the first to comment.

"It makes sense." Blake's face was half hidden behind her book. "You two do spend a lot for time alone together."

"I even started to give her private training sessions." Pyrrha's eyes widened. "Oops… I forgot you said to keep it a secret."

Silence.

Or it was silence until Yang started to choke on her drink. Ruby pulled her hood over her head.

 _When will the teasing ever end?_


	11. Chapter 11

Ruby could barely keep herself still as she and Pyrrha dozed in the tent.

Well, Pyrrha slept, Ruby was far too excited to fall asleep – even though she was the big spoon for the night. _I mean how could I sleep? It's almost time!_ Ruby checked the clock for what must have been the hundredth time in as many seconds. Time was only inching by slowly.

 _Maybe if I just browse the web, I'll fall asleep_. Ruby pulled open her scroll, the dimmed screen illuminating the confines of the tent. It didn't take long for Ruby to find a site that drew her attention. In the middle of a particularly cute video involving a puppy, Ruby heard the sound of someone stirring.

"Is it already time?" Pyrrha groggily inquired as she wiped the sleep from her eyes. "I could have sworn we had a few more hours."

"Uh… we kinda have at least four more…" Very confused emerald eyes lazily stared at her. "I'm just too excited to sleep is all…" Ruby sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck.

The older girl gave Ruby an odd look before making her way over, blanket draping over her shoulders. Plopping down next to her, Pyrrha whispered as she leaned her head against Ruby's, "Well we could both wait, together."

* * *

Pyrrha was starting to have some regrets.

Not regrets about staying up late with Ruby; no, that was great; the two were still happily watching videos into the wee hour of the morning. Rather, it was more along the lines about not bringing enough blankets.

Pyrrha had grown up in a rather warm climate, Mistral being rather humid and warm during most of the year compared to Vale. Subsequently, her first winter in Vale had been a rude awakening – the champion adding several thick articles of clothing to her wardrobe. This was also why she had a mountain of blankets on her bed, which had come in handy for the power outage.

Currently Pyrrha was struggling with keeping her teeth from chattering, the icy bite of the cold seeping into her. It didn't matter that Pyrrha was wearing rather thick sweat pants, or even covered in a thick blanket; she was cold. Inevitably, the struggle was lost as her teeth started to uncontrollably chatter.

Similarly, her girlfriend noticed immediately; Ruby frantically trying to cover Pyrrha in all their blankets as she admonished her. "Pyrrhaaaa, you should have told me you were cold!" It wasn't often that Ruby had that tone in her voice.

"I'm sorry…" Pyrrha guiltily whispered between the chattering. "You just lo-o-o-oked really comfortable, and I-I-I didn't want to make you-u-u move…" Emerald eyes looked downcast as Ruby tried to keep her warm. After a few moments her shorter half stopped.

"I think that's all the blankets we've got…" Concerned silver eyes bore into her. "Are you going to be okay? I could give you mine if y-"

"I sho-o-ould be fine." Pyrrha replied before restarting the video. Ruby gave her one more look, a hint of worry in her eyes before her attention was dragged back to the video. It was a flat out lie; Pyrrha was still freezing; _I just don't want her to worry, plus she'll be cold then… I should be fine!_ It didn't take long for Pyrrha's lie to become apparent as chattering teeth led way to the tall girl shivering.

"Pyrrha." Ruby's usual smiling face had a frown. "You're shivering."

"Perhaps a little?" Pyrrha could hear the younger teen sigh as she guiltily looked away. "Perhaps a lot…"

Instead of responding, Ruby instead quickly peeled off the blankets from the champion before latching onto her and covering the duo in all the blankets, even the ones that had been encompassing the smaller teen. "There." Ruby proudly stated. "Now you should be war- eep!"

Pyrrha latched onto her favourite heat source, the icy cold finally removing it's teeth from her. Giving Ruby a quick kiss, Pyrrha mumbled out, "Much better."

* * *

Ruby found herself blearily waking up, wrapped in a very hot cocoon of warmth that comprised more blankets then she could count and Pyrrha – her girlfriend's arms and legs tightly wrapped around her.

The best kind of cocoon.

The two had eventually fallen asleep at some point in the midst of video watching late in the night – Ruby finally gaining some much needed rest. Ruby lethargically yawned as she felt herself drifting back to sleep while she checked the time.

"It's finally time!"

Pyrrha mumbled something incoherent into the back of Ruby's neck, her arms only tightening around the small teen's torso. "Pyrrhaaaaaa, wake up!" Ruby gently shook her girlfriend awake. "It's time to wake up!"

"I'm awake, I'm awake Ruby." The arms locked around Ruby finally loosened, the trapped teen finally gaining freedom. "Just…" Pyrrha gave a great loud yawn, dwarfing Ruby's earlier one. "Give me a moment to wake up."

Several minutes later, the tent flap was unzipped, natural light streaming in as Pyrrha and Ruby emerged from it...

…only to take three steps before entering a bakery.

"Are you sure it was wise to camp in front of the bakery?" Pyrrha asked as the employee at the counter greeted them. "I know some it's a common practice for some stores, but I didn't think it was a thing for bakeries…"

"I used to do it all time back at Patch." Ruby's mouth watered at the freshly baked cookies, her fingers fumbling for lien. "I'll take the Black Friday special!"

* * *

AU: I will find a way to make these two cuddle for pretty much any reason.

YOU THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE A THANKSGIVING SPECIAL, BUT NO, IT WAS I, DIO- I mean Black Friday. Yes. That. I really head canon hard that Pyrrha does NOT deal with the cold well.

For those of you who are waiting on review responses and message responses, I'm really sorry I haven't been able to do them… real life has been kicking me in the butt as well as trying to get _Acceptance_ ready for December 4th… which might not be possible this time around. If it happens, be assured that there is a new story I will be posting then too. For those of you who are curious, it'll be a serious story, and my editor/BETA for it is Super Saiyan Cyndaquil. I'm pretty excited for it!

If I can't keep to my deadline for _Acceptance_ , I'll push it back a week (as well as the new story)… if that fails too, then January 1st. I'll try, people, after all, _Acceptance_ is my big Pyrrha/Ruby story, but real life is quite busy for both me and my editor as of late.

As always, thanks for reading everyone! :D


	12. Chapter 12

Ruby wasn't used to waking up alone in a bed anymore.

It was an odd thing, how quickly being by yourself in your own bed made you feel alone. How the fact that there was only one warm body instead of two lying within the sheets, was perhaps one of most unusual and frightening things to happen.

It only added to the confusion that it was the middle of the night, _Pyrrha doesn't even get up this early to jog!_ Glancing around the room, Ruby saw her teammates sleeping, but no Pyrrha. _Heck, the bathroom light isn't even on… where could she be?_ Ruby briefly debated going back to sleep. Briefly. Slowly sliding off her lofted bed, Ruby made her way towards the only place she could think the tall redhead being; team JNPR's room.

One of the nice things that comes from being a friend of their team leader and dating his partner was the fact that Ruby's scroll had been granted access to the room _. I don't think I'm supposed to be able to get in… buuut it's convenient!_ The door unlocked at the press of the button, letting Ruby slip in.

The first thing that came to Ruby's mind was the distinct lack of her girlfriend in the room. Where could she be? Frowning, Ruby plopped down at Pyrrha's desk, careful to not wake the sleeping teens – not that I could really wake anyone up over Nora's snoring. That's when Ruby noticed another thing; the fact that Pyrrha's book bag was gone, along with most of her textbooks, leaving the desk empty. _Well that's weird, maybe she is studying?_

Whatever the case was, it was clear to Ruby that Pyrrha was most definitely awake which meant the sleepy teen could text her, without worrying about waking her up. A few key inputs later, Ruby slumped lightly onto the desk as she waited for some kind of response. _So sleepy…_ It was a fight to keep her eyes open.

Moments later her scroll quietly pinged. _She's at the library?_ Shrugging, Ruby pushed herself up, out of the desk and slowly ambled out the door.

It may have been hours, or it have been minutes as Ruby lethargically ambled through the darkened hallways of the school, finally coming face to face with the door marked 'library'. The Beacon library was opened far later than Ruby had ever thought going to it, especially with the onset of exams. Consequently, when the teen opened the door, the library was nowhere near empty, students desperately attempting to cram in some last minute studying. There was only one student that Ruby was looking for, however.

The long, flowing, crimson hair was a dead-giveaway, Ruby knowing exactly who it belonged too, causing her to make her way to the small closed off workstation. Not even giving a greeting, Ruby wrapped her arms around the taller teen's torso, her chin resting on Pyrrha's shoulders.

"Hello Ruby." Pyrrha didn't miss a beat, merely turning her head to give a quick peck on Ruby's cheek before turning back to the mess of papers and textbooks in front of her. "I should be done fairly soon."

"Oh. Okay." Ruby numbly nodded as she comfortably melted against Pyrrha. "I'm just gonna get comfy then…"

Minutes ticked by, as the sound of pencil scratching against paper slowly lulled Ruby to sleep.

"Are you almost done?" Ruby murmured hopefully, wanting to go back to the warmth of her bed. "We kinda have class tomorrow Pyrrha…"

"I know." Pyrrha replied absentmindedly as she continued to write. "I promise I'm almost done." Ruby mumbled something before deciding to wait it out, _after all, there can't be all that much left, could there?_

Another ten minutes of Ruby struggling to stay awake proved otherwise.

"Pyrrha, how much do you have left?" Ruby was trying to keep the annoyance out of her tone - she really did want to go back to bed. "We really should go back to sleep." The taller girl mumbled something far too quiet for Ruby to hear, the speed at which the pencil was writing increased. "Um… what?"

"…seventeen pages."

"Pyrrhaaaaaaa." Ruby couldn't help but stare at her girlfriend, Pyrrha's face gaining a frown at the tone. "That's gonna take all night!"

"Sorry!" Pyrrha apologized. "I didn't get any time to work on it today, and Jaune really needed some extra sparring for the upcoming combat exam, and will probably need help tomorrow." The taller teen's tone became quite sheepish. "This might be the only time I have to work on Professor Port's paper."

"Nope~!" Ruby wasn't going to have her girlfriend missing sleep to work on a paper, that'd be ridiculous! Moreover, very "You need sleep."

Pyrrha shook her head mournfully, the long ponytail swishing slightly. "But then when else can I get it done?"

"But you need your sleep." Ruby protested. "We can figure it out in the morning." Pyrrha's silence made clear her resistance. "Please?"

"Ruby." The champion sighed, turning around to face her smaller girlfriend. "I need to get this paper done. It won't hurt too much if I miss one night's worth of sleep will it?"

"Yes it will." Ruby could distinctly remember how disorganized Blake had become when after they'd fought the paladin, she'll end up like Blake was. That'd be unhealthy for Pyrrha. Ruby would much rather have a rested Pyrrha then a sleep deprived Pyrrha with a better grade. "Sleep is good, please?"

"But the pa-"

"You have to get some sleep Pyrrha, else you won't be able to stay awake in Professor Port's class, and if you can't stay awake for his class, then you won't be able to stay awake for Oobleck's class and he'll keep you after class like he did with Jaune that one time, and you won't get to the cafeteria until after lunch ends, and if you don't eat, you'll have to train Jaune on an empty stomach! And Jaune's really clumsy. So what if he trips and stabs you in the face and you can't dodge because you're thinking about how hungry you are, which will be really bad!"

The girl in question gave Ruby a half amused, half exasperated look. "Pyrrha, I am you're girlfriend." Ruby didn't play this card often, it was something she tried to avoid, but she'd play it if it meant getting Pyrrha some sleep. "You'll be able to get more done with some sleep… not getting sleep is bad for you… for me, please?"

Pyrrha finally set down her pencil. "Perhaps you're right." Ruby couldn't stop a victorious grin from tugging at her lips as Pyrrha slowly closed her textbooks.

 _The paper can wait, it's far more important for my champion to sleep._

* * *

AU: Pyrrha totally carried Ruby back to the dorm piggy back style. Yup.

Okay, this was supposed to be worrywart Ruby being worried about Pyrrha. Don't know if it came off that way. Also Ruby might have been too pushy. Oh well.

For all my _Acceptance_ readers (the bigger Pyrrha/Ruby story I write), release date got pushed back by a week. I put a blurb about it on my profile.

Time to go write a _Dilation_ chapter, will post it within the hour or two!

I published a new story today called _Wrath_ , which Super Saiyan Cyndaquil is BETA/editing for, the prologue is out, expect things to get intense!

Thanks for reading everyone, have a great day! :D


	13. Chapter 13

Pyrrha felt her heart snap as she looked down at the broken piece of metal she was holding.

At one point, they'd been very recognizable pieces of metal; in fact, one might say iconic. At the very least iconic to everyone in her year, as the unmistakable High-Caliber Sniper-Scythe that belonged to her girlfriend.

 _I broke Crescent Rose._

 _Oh no._

 _This is bad, this is very VERY bad! Ruby loves Crescent Rose more than anything and I broke it!_ Pyrrha could feel tears start to well up in her eyes as she found herself frozen in place, unable to do anything. _I… I just wanted to give it some upgrades_. One of the many perks of being a celebrity was the fact that Pyrrha had access to several modifications from certain companies that sponsored her, well before they were released to the public.

…such as the one that Ruby had been all but drooling over for the past month. Pyrrha had been hoping she could install it on Crescent Rose and have it be a nice surprise for her girlfriend when she got back to the dorm with her team.

At first, Pyrrha thought it was going to be easy; _after all, these things come with instructions right?_ Turns out it wasn't the case for this particular modification. In fact, it had just been in a protective bubble wrapped case with no helpful handbook of any kind. No matter, Pyrrha had seen her girlfriend disassemble Crescent Rose enough times to know how to do it – she could figure out where it went.

In all fairness, Pyrrha had felt more than a bit uncomfortable handling Crescent Rose; it was a form of trust that Ruby had let her have access to her locker. _I'm not abusing her trust! I'm just… giving her a gift._ Pyrrha couldn't wait to see the glee on Ruby's face. It was with that image in mind that Pyrrha had disassembled the weapon, replacing placing the new folding mechanism into the blade head of the scythe. All was going well… until the pieces didn't fit back together.

Pyrrha's first notion was that perhaps she had reassembled it wrong, that if she disassembled it again, and redid it, it'd be fine… only for a different part of the weapon to not align properly. Repeating the process again, only led to the first issue popping up in addition to the second. It was at this point the desperation started to set in.

 _What am I going to do?_ The teen only had a scant hour and a half left before Ruby returned. I could be honest about it. That was certainly her second option; hopefully Ruby would forgive her. However, that was also a last resort for Pyrrha, seeing as she had technically violated Ruby's privacy and broken her most treasured possession.

 _I-I-I just need to take it apart do it more slowly this time. Then I'll be able to see what I did wrong._ Pyrrha started to slowly calm down. It's going to be fine. Perfectly fine. Very slowly, the teen started to dissemble the weapon once more. _I still have an hour and a half left till they get here._ She looked up at the ceiling, as if it held the answers. _I can do thi-_

Her emerald eyes strayed towards the clock.

Less than five minutes left.

 _Oh no._

* * *

"We're back!"

It was a voice that Pyrrha was normally ecstatic to hear, yet today it was one she was dreading, as Ruby skipped towards her, followed by her teammates –albeit with a slightly less skip to their gait. "H-hello Ruby." _Crap, my voice is shaking._

Ruby, however, didn't notice the tremor in her voice, rather, her silver eyes were drawn to what Pyrrha was hiding behind her back. "Whatca ya hiding?"

 _It's now or never._ "Remember that mod you saw in Battle Axe monthly?" Ruby nodded slowly. "Well… I might have had to call in some favours but…" With a shaky smile, Pyrrha slowly revealed Crescent Rose from behind her. "Crescent Rose has it now."

The gleeful smile that stretched the corners of Ruby's mouth, the pure happiness in her silver eyes was all that Pyrrha needed to remember that the last four hours of panicking had been well worth it. In the end, she'd been able to properly reassemble it, much to her relief _. I suppose I just needed some pressure to get it right._ "Eeee! Thank youuu!" It still surprised Pyrrha the sheer level of bone crushing that could happened when the far smaller teen hugged her. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank youuuu!"

As soon as the hug had enveloped her, it disappeared, as Ruby darted away from Pyrrha –and the rest of team RWBY- before swinging the scythe open. "Oh wow it's so much lighter!" Ruby was practically fawning as she stared at the new part. "And it opened smoother too!" Pyrrha finally allowed herself to smile.

With a flick of the wrist, the scythe closed back down, Ruby locking it onto the back of her belt. Well. Most of it.

Part of the blade had sheared off in mid-close, much to the horror of Pyrrha. Yang, Weiss and Blake stared at it in shock, the component floating in the air behind Ruby due to the tall teen's semblance; her immediate reaction to grab it with her power so it didn't clatter against the ground.

"It's so light, I can barely even feel it!" The shorter teen disappeared in a burst of rose petals. "You're the best girlfriend ever Pyrrha!" Ruby was oblivious the stares of her teammates as she squeezed Pyrrha in another hug before standing up on her tippy-toes to give her a kiss. The lack of Pyrrha's response evidently tipped Ruby off to something being off, as she turned around; "Is something wro-"

Silver eyes locked onto the broken fragment of Crescent Rose.

 _Oh no._

* * *

AU: Pyrrha, you've screwed up, may the crying Ruby not give you nightmares. I may actually do a sequel chapter next Friday for this. Possibly.

Okay, short message today; _Acceptance_ will be posted later today, probably in about two to three hours. Just need to finish some editing and one of the omakes. No _Dilation_ , sorry X_X

Hopefully this came off as funny, this was a very rushed chapter sadly! Also, Protect Nikos 2k15!

Thanks for reading everyone, have a great day! :D


	14. Chapter 14

Pyrrha couldn't help but feel happy.

Exams were finally over for the semester, both she and her girlfriend had done well, passing all of their classes. Moreover, she was currently cocooned with said girlfriend in a pile of blankets and pillows on the couch, illuminated only by the soft glow of the large screen in front of them, an animated cartoon providing the only sound in the otherwise still room.

Ruby had come up with a great way to celebrate the end of the term; a massive anime marathon. They'd been at it for a good seven hours now, switching the anime every episode between Pyrrha's favourite and Ruby's favourite. Currently, the tenth episode of Silver Spoon's closing was playing, Pyrrha's personal favourite anime. _There is just something about it that makes me feel good._ Unlike the vast majority of violence filled anime out there, stories that glorified killing, this was one merely about going to farmer's college and eking out a good, honest living.

Ruby's, on the other hand, was a mech anime called Gurren Lagan. It wasn't a genre that Pyrrha was intimately familiar with, she knew that was considered extremely popular, especially some of the older series. So far it'd been downright delightful to watch the comically oversized robots fight, and it was clear to her why Ruby loved the series so much. _Speaking of which…_

"Ruby, time to switch to Gurren Lagan." With no response, Pyrrha nudged the younger teen who was nestled in her lap. "Ruby?"

"Five more minutes Yang, then I'll feed Zwei..." Pyrrha smiled, _I suppose she finally fell asleep_. It wasn't a surprise when considering the fact that it was now two in the morning. _Perhaps I should get some sleep too._

Common sense would dictate moving from the couch in the common area of the dormitory to one of their rooms. It wouldn't be hard for Pyrrha either; the teen could easily pick up her smaller half without waking her up. However, that would mean moving, an action that Pyrrha did not quite want to undertake – she was far too comfortable on the couch.

Seconds of indecision turned into minutes as Pyrrha contemplated just letting the chips fall where they may and join Ruby in getting some much needed sleep.

Just as her eyes started to close, the soft pitter-patter of footsteps roused Pyrrha. "Hello?"

"Hellooo~!" Pyrrha knew the voice that rang out well, even in the dim light she could make out the mass of approaching blond hair. "You two still going through Gurren Lagan?"

"Not at the moment, no." Pyrrha shook her head. "Ruby's asleep, so I was planning on heading back to the dorm with her."

"Aww, I was hopin' to join you two, I even brought cookies." Yang paused, waiting for something before continuing "Huh, Ruby really is out cold then." The blond hair shook back and forth slowly. "Oh well, I could always join you two next time."

"I'm sorry." Pyrrha mumbled out, stifling a yawn, marathoning with Yang _did_ sound like fun. "Perhaps in the morning we could continue the marath-"

"Naw, it's all good." Yang waved the comment away. "I'd just be a third wheel anyway, and I don't think Ruby would want that."

"Nonsense, Ruby would love to have you join us." Pyrrha glanced down at the sleep teen, Ruby's arms wrapped around the taller teen's torso as she snoozed, the sight bringing a content smile to Pyrrha's face. "Why wouldn't we want you with us?"

"I doubt you two wouldn't appreciate me hanging around when things get intimate." The comment brought a rising heat to Pyrrha cheeks as Yang shrugged. "Like I said, third wheel."

"We weren't doing anything Yang." At least not today, she doesn't need to know about those training sessions. Not that they were all that… risqué, just making out a few times… nothing scandalous.

"Uh-huh, suuuure you weren't~" It was that teasing tone that was normally reserved for Ruby, or the rest of her team that Pyrrha now heard. To be completely honest, as much as some –namely Ruby- didn't like being teased by Yang, Pyrrha found it endearing. It was an indication of, well, closeness; that someone knew her well enough that they felt comfortable in adopting that dynamic. It was those instances that made Pyrrha feel like she was no longer on a pedestal, that she had friends and family now. She adored those moments.

"Y'know." Yang's voice broke the growing silence, a tilt to unlike the teasing one, rather gentle instead. "I'm really glad you're dating Ruby."

"Uh, sorry?" Pyrrha blinked in surprise at the sudden comment. "What do you mean?"

"Well, ever since you two started dating, Ruby has been happy." Yang finally plopped down on a nearby chair. "Like, she's always pretty happy, it's just how she is, but now… now it's like a whole new thing." The blonde glanced towards the girl in question on Pyrrha's lap. "There's just a… glow on her whenever you're around."

"Oh. I see." The blush was now covering Pyrrha's entire face as she lovingly stared down at her girlfriend, one of her hands running gently through Ruby's hair in a calming motion. "She's… she's my everything." It sounded beyond cheesy, but it was true; Ruby meant the world to Pyrrha.

"Aaaand that's why she loves you." Yang's voice drew Pyrrha's attention for a moment before returning to Ruby. "I literally couldn't think of someone better for her… or for you."

"Thanks." Pyrrha could only murmur now as the biggest, goofiest smile stretched across her face. "It means a lot to me."

"Just being truthful is all! Plus, you're gonna be a badass sister-in-law!" Pyrrha couldn't help but giggle as her face was now redder then Ruby's cape. "Just keep treating her right, and I'll be happy, okay?" With that, the blonde sprang on to her feet. "Welp, guess no anime for me, time for some sleep, 'night Pyrrha!"

"Goodnight Yang." With that, Pyrrha was once more alone with a snoozing Ruby, her rose. "I suppose we really should get to bed then." Slowly wrapping her arms around the sleeping teen, -not that it was very hard since Ruby was already clinging to her- Pyrrha stood up, and started the trek back to the JNPR dorm, blankets trailing the two.

Life was truly kind to Pyrrha sometimes; it gave her people like Ruby in her life.

 _I'll cherish my rose forever._

* * *

AU: YOU WEREN'T EXPECTING A NEW CHAPTER SO SOON NOW WERE YOU?!

My Hanukkah gift to all, is some fluff after the sads!

After the frankly angst filled episode that was this weekend, I decided we needed some good ol' feel good Pyrrha fluff. I mean, look how loved she feels in this, LOOK AT IT! This is also a birthday present for Jo3mm as well as an answer to his Pyrrha/Ruby prompt about anime marathoning all the things. Though they did a lack of it.

Next chapter will be Friday (or Saturday) as per usual, so the cliffhanger from the last chapter will probably be resolved then. Unless I need to write more fluff. Look, I need Happy!Pyrrha in my life right now so Spoon Equality might be getting far more love and chapters then once per week because I desperately need this now, I hope that's okay with everyone?

Thanks for reading everyone and as always, have a great day/night/unit-of-measurement!

* * *

Omake:

"So do you think I should do it?"

Pyrrha knew weapons well, not perhaps as well as her girlfriend. Her brain was telling her no, but the big silver orbs excitedly staring into her emerald eyes said yes.

"We can try Ruby, but I still don't know if Crescent Rose will be a drill that can pierce the heavens…"


	15. Chapter 15

_Oh_ _no._

That was the first thought made its way into Pyrrha's head as Ruby stared at the broken piece of Crescent Rose. No other set of words felt proper. There were vulgar words, sure, but those were not something that Pyrrha would chose, not enough to describe the gravity of the situation.

 _I just broke Ruby's sweetheart. The object that gave her own last name to. Her great love._ Emerald eyes flickered towards Ruby's teammates, the people that would know her best after herself – or better in Yang's case.

Weiss' gaze was squarely on the weapon itself, surprise etched into her face. _Why wouldn't she be surprised? She would know how much time and effort Ruby put into her own weapon, how it's probably never broken before or even have a scratch._

Meanwhile, Yang was focused on Ruby, her lilac eyes not clouding with red like Pyrrha might have thought they would. _It's not as if I just broke her sister's most cherished and prized possession, nothing like that at all._ It was more troubling then anything that Yang was less angry at Pyrrha and more worried for Ruby. Without being able to see Ruby's face, Pyrrha could only guess at what her reaction was.

Lastly, Blake's eyes were going back and forth between Crescent Rose and Ruby, before finally settling on Pyrrha. The expression was clear as day to Pyrrha. Worry. Worry of what was going to happen to Pyrrha. The teen in question all but wanted to ask for help from the Faunus.

 _I'm so dead! Ruby is going to be angry- no that wasn't right_. Pyrrha knew Ruby very well. Ruby wouldn't get angry over something like this. No, something far worse.

 _Ruby will be sad._

The team leader wasn't the kind of person to get angry over really anything _. Sure, she might get annoyed, but angry?_ Pyrrha could count the number of times over years she'd seen Ruby angry on one hand. _Ruby is going to cry, and it'll be my fault._ The realization stung Pyrrha.

 _I'm going to make Ruby cry! The redhead who I love is going to be sobbing any second now and it's all my fault!_ Pyrrha's lip wobbled as tears started to well up in her eyes. _I could have just given her the part, and it would have been fine, she'd still be surprised! I killed Crescent Rose, I killed Ruby's swe-_

Wordlessly, Ruby took a step forward, picking up the sheared off piece of Crescent Rose, before grabbing Pyrrha by the hand and leading her out of the dorm as three pairs of eyes followed them.

Pyrrha let herself be led through the hallways by the shorter teen. That being said, it wasn't without her brain screaming a thousand thoughts per second, as she tried to figure out what Ruby was going to do, where she was going to take her. Out of all the reactions Pyrrha had thought might happen, this was not one of them.

 _Where could she be taking me?_

Another question popped up in Pyrrha's head, _why is she leading me away from everyone else?_ _If she was going to cry, she would have done it in the dorm, or yell… why is she so calm?_ Ruby being calm was something that just did not happen, yet the girl had said not a word to her, there was no emotion shaking her.

Maybe she is so angry that she's calm? Pyrrha had seen it before in people; they were so angry that short of them being a gibbering mess, they held it in. _Could breaking Crescent Rose make her that angry? Of course it cou-_

A far more terrifying thought wormed its way into the recesses of Pyrrha's head, one that truly scared her.

 _What if Ruby is going to break up with me?_

It all made sense; why Ruby had led Pyrrha off, _why she was so silent; it's because she is trying to figure out how to say it_. Pyrrha's vision blurred as hot tears started to streak down her face. _I just made a single stupid mistake and that's the end?_ _I ruined the best thing in my life-_

"Here we are!" Ruby's voice brought Pyrrha out of her thoughts abruptly. Focusing on something that wasn't her feet, the tall teen noticed that Ruby had led her to Beacon's workshop. "Pyrrha-" Ruby spun around, her silver eyes widening at the sight of Pyrrha's teary streaked face. "W-w-why are you crying?" Ruby's tone confused Pyrrha; there was no malice, or anger in it, no hard feelings, but genuine concern. "What's wrong?"

Pyrrha could scream, there were so many things wrong. How "You're…you're going to…" As emotions started to overwhelm Pyrrha, words failed her, silent sobbing starting to wrack her figure. Immediately Ruby had her arms around her, holding on tightly to Pyrrha in an embrace. Pyrrha clutched onto her the smaller redhead, intent on not letting go, fearful that if she did, she'd never see her again.

Seconds turned into minutes, as the two stood in the hallway, Ruby silently hugging her as the tears finally dried out. "I really didn't mean to break Crescent Rose." It took a lot of effort on Pyrrha's part to finally say it with stuttering and even then her voice sounded small, childlike. "I'm sorry."

"Is-is that what this is about?" The surprise in Ruby's voice, in her silver eyes was not what Pyrrha had expected. "I mean it sucks, yeah, but now we can build a better one!"

"Buh-what?"

The emotions muted in Pyrrha as she tried to comprehend what Ruby had just said. "What do you mean?" _She has to feel SOMETHING, after all, Crescent Rose broke in two!_ "Aren't you sad?"

"Nope!" Ruby shook her head. "I used to break her all the time!"

"…you aren't breaking up with me?"

That got an immediate reaction out of Ruby; the smaller teen backing up, looking horrified at Pyrrha, terrified that it'd even been mentioned. "Wha-wha… why would I do that?!"

"Because I broke Crescent Rose…" Pyrrha's eyes tilted down. "Isn't that why we left the room?"

"I would never break up with you!" With that, Ruby squeezed Pyrrha again. "I love you!"

"I love you too." Even as Pyrrha mumbled that into Ruby's shoulder, all of the emotions that had been muted flooded back at her. The biggest one was a sense of relief that she hadn't screwed up the thing that made her, that made Ruby so happy. Another was shame. Shame that she thought Ruby would even consider that. _Ruby never even considered it… yet that was my first thought._

"Pyrrha." The tall teen was broken out of her thoughts. "I love you more then I love Crescent Rose. There's… there's no contest."

"Oh." Still, a question nagged at Pyrrha's mind. "How come you were so quiet? I… I really was worried."

"That's 'cause I was already thinking of what to add to Crescent Rose!" Silver eyes gleamed, as a certain giddiness entered Ruby's tone. "We can rebuild her from the ground up and this time, you could help me, so you'd know how to do it!" A very red blush spread across Ruby's cheeks. "Plus I get to spend time with you."

Pyrrha's arms snaked around Ruby's torso before pulling the girl towards her into a bear hug. "How did I get someone as wonderful as you for a girlfriend?"

Pyrrha could feel Ruby smile as she muttered back, "I kinda ask the same question every day myself hehe…"

There was one thing that Pyrrha was certain of however;

 _I'm the luckiest person ever to have Ruby._

* * *

AU: WHAT DID YOU THINK RUBY WAS GOING TO START CRYING OR SOMETHING? NOPE!

Ruby's reaction was basically "well crap, Crescey broke. I CAN REBUILD HER STRONGER AND FASTER AND I COULD DO IT WITH PYRRHA YAASSSSSSSS!"

These two are just like beautiful happy dogs who like being happy, no sads only glads. Also cliffhanger sucked and sorry if I surprised you guys and gals with that chapter on Sunday. I need happier Pyrrha (PYRRHA YANG PROTECT SQUAD 2k16!) so I had to write it. Sorry if I haven't been getting to review replies, life has been hectic for me!

This had _Acceptance_ feels towards the end, and this annoys me greatly for some reason.

Okay, Dilation chapter will be out on Sunday! I'm slowly working through Acceptance, still going to try and put it out on New Year's Day!

Now off to work at the theater for Star Wars.

Thanks for reading everyone and have a great day!


	16. Chapter 16

Ruby Rose was surprisingly not feeling very festive on Dustmas eve.

While everyone is getting festive and happy at Beacon, Ruby was preparing for war. Tomorrow is the night that some uninvited man is going to breach the defenses of the kingdom, sneak on to school grounds and break into her room, and steal her cookies by leaving not-cookies in their place.

AND DRINK HER MILK!

For years she'd been telling everyone that the man was a far bigger threat to the safety of the world; he could break into any dwelling in all of Remnant and take whatever he wanted! Apparently, everyone was satisfied with the not-cookies he left every time, in some kind of crude bartering system.

But Ruby Rose wasn't going to be fooled! This was her first year in an institution literally designed to teach combat – previous years her team had been on a mission or had gone home; she was going to make her dorm the most fortified location on Remnant.

No one was going to take her cookies this year!

* * *

Pyrrha didn't know what to expect when she went to see Ruby. Her smaller, better half had been busy the previous day, _perhaps some last minute gifts?_

Pyrrha knew she had trouble finding the perfect gift for Ruby but had finally figured it out; there were a few things that Ruby really liked, problematically she already had those things, like mods for Crescent Rose or food. After wracking her brain for a while, Pyrrha remembered the one thing that Ruby didn't have or at least not a lot of. She'd gone to all the professors, dug through all the archives that she could find to dredge up some old photos of Summer Rose.

Team RWBY's dorm was decorated extremely festive, somehow the teens had even managed to get a tree into the room. Yet Ruby wasn't there, in fact Yang directed her to the dormitory's student kitchen. A few minutes later, and Pyrrha found herself staring at the now heavily fortified entrance, complete with sandbags and peep holes for gun barrels.

"Ruby? Are you in there?" Pyrrha asked, seeing as the door was locked up tight.

Moments later, a silver eye was staring through one of the peep holes. "Oh, hiya Pyrrha! Just a sec!" A rush of rose petals later, and Pyrrha found herself being pulled into the room, the door slamming shut as numerous locks were engaged.

The inside of the kitchen looked as much as it had outside; an extremely fortified position, enough to hold off an army. "Ruby… what's going on?"

"What's what going on?" Ruby's head tilting as if she had no idea what Pyrrha was asking about. Pyrrha could only gesture to the piles of sandbags and spare ammunition containers. "Oh those? That's to keep out Santa Claus."

Pyrrha blinked. "Come again?"

"Santa Claus?" Ruby stared at her incredulously. "Y'know the big guy with the beard and the sack o-"

"Why would you want to keep him out?"

"Because he steals all my cookies." A determined gleam entered Ruby's silver eyes. "Each year he breaks into my house and steals all my cookies, BUT NO LONGER!"

Pyrrha blinked again. "That's because he's leaving gifts."

The short girl vehemently shook her head. "You can't just replace cookies with not-cookies… unless they're strawberries, but they're never strawberries!"

Pyrrha had to resist the urge to just stare at her girlfriend. She'd heard Ruby say many things, but this was one of the more off-kilter things she'd heard. _I could question this… or I could go along with it._ Finding a comfortable spot to sit amongst the anti-Santa weaponry, Pyrrha made her choice.

 _This is going to be an interesting night._

* * *

When Pyrrha woke up, it was dark outside.

Despite being very comfortable in her cocoon of blankets with Ruby, sometimes nature called, leading Pyrrha to the common area's bathroom. It would have been a rather uneventful trip had it not been for the shadow darting out of the kitchen upon her return.

 _Was that?_ Pyrrha couldn't help but stare at where the shadow had disappeared to. _It couldn't have been, could it?_ Slowly Pyrrha trotted towards where it had gone. _I thought Santa wasn't r-_ She caught another glimpse of the shadow, a hug sack over its back.

Her slow, creeping gait turned into a jog, as she tried to track the shadow, turning the corner in the hall only for the shadow to jump out in front of her. In that moment, Pyrrha's training kicked in, Milo nailing the shadow to the wall in less than a second.

With the shadow more or less stuck against the wall, Pyrrha finally got a better look at it, it took all of five seconds to figure out who it was. "Yang?"

"Uh, hi Pyrrha?" Yang weakly waved. "Mind getting me down from here?"

Pyrrha nodded sheepishly, as she went to pull Milo out of the wall and help pick up someone of the stuff that fell out of the sack. "I'm really sorry Yang, you just spooked me is…all… Yang, why do you have the school's cookie supplies?"

"Would you believe me if I said it'd be to protect them from good 'ol Saint Nick?" Yang embarrassedly asked in return. Pyrrha merely raised an eyebrow in response. "Please don't tell Ruby!"

"And why shouldn't I tell Ruby?" Pyrrha sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "What would possibly convince me to not tell my girlfriend that you are stealing all of the academy's cookies?"

Yang's head bowed for a moment before tilting up, a very mischievous glint in her eyes. "If you don't tell Ruby, I'll give her and you the best gift you could ever hope for, no crap, I swear!"

Pyrrha could only imagine what Yang was implying. _In for a penny, in for a pound as the saying goes._ "Only if I can take back half the cookies… and if Ruby asks me, I'm going to say the truth."

Yang seemed to think about it for a moment before holding out her hand. "I'm only giving back a quarter." Pyrrha begrudgingly nodded, hoping the deal wouldn't be altered further.

"Deal."

* * *

Pyrrha's emerald eyes blearily forced themselves open, as light gently streamed in through the snow tinted windows.

Despite the light streaming in, Pyrrha wanted more sleep, choosing instead to snuggle into her personal heat source. Her personal heat source, however, had other ideas. "Pyrrha, we need to check the cookies, I think I finally scared him off this year!"

Guilt flooded into Pyrrha as Ruby hopped out of their blanket fort and dashed towards the industrial sized freezer, the place that contained all of the cookie dough, only for a wounded whimper to come out of her. "At least we have some of them left."

Yang's gift better be good, Pyrrha thought to herself as she watched Ruby dejectedly trudge back to her. Pyrrha couldn't take the sight anymore, looking anywhere else then her sad girlfriend. Eventually her emerald eyes found the ceiling.

 _Oh my._

Pyrrha had a good guess as to what Yang's gift was now.

From every possible inch of the ceiling now hung mistletoes, hundreds of them. It was like a forest on the wrong side of gravity. As Pyrrha's eyes went from the ceiling back to Ruby, a set if silver eyes' focus finished their own trek from the ceiling squarely onto Pyrrha.

There was something that was very clear to Pyrrha now as she stared into those eyes, a smoldering, melting fire alight in them; _Ruby is no longer hungry for cookies._

* * *

AU: Here, have a Chrismahanukwanzakah gift!

Basically Yang steals all the cookie dough and makes it into a cookie the size of a sled for Ruby's gift!

Important news thing: For those of you who read my other stuff, _Acceptance_ is up for fanfic of the year on the RWBY subreddit, when voting starts I'll have directions in all my updates for that week (next week) on how to vote if you feel so inclined :P

Thanks for reading everyone and have a great holidays!

* * *

Omake:

"Damn you *kisses Pyrrha* Santa *kisses Pyrrha* Claus! I'll *kisses Pyrrha* get you *kisses Pyrrha* next *kisses Pyrrha* YEEAAAA-*kisses Pyrrha*-AAAAAAAAAR! *furiously making out with Pyrrha*"


	17. Chapter 17

"So what's your New Year's Resolution gonna be?"

"I haven't really thought about it." Pyrrha's attention went from a boisterous blond trying to pull Blake out of her book to glance down at the redhead occupying her lap before tapping her chin in thought.

In the past, she'd always resolved to have more friends, or be a better person, or even perhaps get a certain person to notice her. _That seems sort of silly now, especially since I think I have my special someone's full, undivided attention_ , Pyrrha idly noted as she ran a hand through Ruby's hair. "I guess, it'd be a better girlfriend to you."

"Whaaaaa?!" The response she got, was one Pyrrha was not expecting, Ruby shooting up from being sprawled across the taller girl's lap. "What are you talking about?! You're a great girlfriend!"

Heat rose in Pyrrha's cheeks as they turned the namesake of her girlfriend. "Thanks Ruby. I could still do better."

"Nuh-uh!" Ruby shook her head. "You are literally the perfect girlfriend!" Pyrrha's face was so beet red, that words were having difficulty coming to her. "What could you possibly do better?"

"I…" Pyrrha's voice died in her throat. "I don't know." The tall teen sheepish admitted. "I suppose I could be a better listener? If I'd been paying attention when I had borrowed Crescent Rose, er, you wouldn't have felt so bad." Before Ruby could get a word in, Pyrrha continued. "Or stayed in contact better when I was on a mission…"

"But you couldn't control those things!" Ruby's arms waved around wildly. "It wasn't your fault that I felt that way, plus you were, like, in the middle of training!" Ruby ticked off a finger. "Then the mission was 'cause the scrolls got ruined, totally not your fault!"

"…I suppose you're right Ruby." Pyrrha finally conceded after a few seconds. "But still, I think that my resolution will be that." The older teen felt a smile spread across her face. "Plus, how else am I going to show much I love you?"

"Pyrrhaaaa, you're already the perfect girlfriend!" The girl in question felt a quick peck on her cheek before Ruby settled back down in her lap. "I already feel reaaally loved, you don't have to do anything else for me!" Ruby sheepishly fiddled with hem of skirt. "I kinda need to be a better girlfriend if anything…"

"Hmmm… nope!" Pyrrha pulled Ruby up into a gentle hug. "I think you're pretty great already." _Although I could do without the elbow in the face when you can't sleep,_ Pyrrha couldn't help but think.

"But I, uh, I'm just me." Ruby gestured to herself. "I'm not special or anything."

"You're special to me."

Pyrrha was rewarded with a sudden kiss on the lips before Ruby settled back into her lap. "I love you, y'know that right?"

"That I do, and I love you too." The two settled into a amicable silence before Pyrrha pipped up. "How about yourself? For your New Year's resolution that is."

"Besides being a better girlfriend?" Before Pyrrha could say a word in edge-wise, Ruby continued. "The same one I have every year!"

"Oh?" Pyrrha hadn't spent last New Year's with Ruby, this being the first New Year they were together. "So what it is?"

"To kill all the Grimm!" The confident expression that was just oozing off Ruby withered. "…and maybe drink more milk… don't tell Yang." Lowering her voice while glancing at a certain long haired sister.

"I won't, you have my word." Pyrrha gave a warm smile before her brow furrowed, did Ruby just say she was going to kill all the Grimm? "Wait, what about the Grimm?"

Ruby's demeanor changed from confident to a lot more sheepish in a flash. "Ever since I got into Signal, every New Year's, I kinda always made a vow to kill all the Grimm. I might not be able to do last year, but next year I totally can!"

Pyrrha silently added another resolution in the back of her mind; keep Ruby alive! Not that she wouldn't already do that, but given the nature of Ruby's resolution, well, let's just say that it was worrisome for Pyrrha.

"Ten! Nine! Eight!" The two redhead's teammates started the countdown to the New Year as they joined in on the chant.

"Seven! Six! Five! Four!" Pyrrha's eyes were drawn to the huge dustball being lowered in Vale's Times Square on the screen. I'm supposed to kiss Ruby when it's the New Year, right? "Three! Two! One! Happy New Year's Ru-mmph"

Lips pressing urgently against her own silenced Pyrrha, the redhead feeling Ruby's fingers thread through her hair pulling her into a deep kiss. Well I guess that answers that question. Pyrrha melted into the kiss, the sound of the other party goers being muted.

…Or would have been had it not been for Yang. "LA-LA-LA-LA-LA!"

Pyrrha was almost certain that rose petals flitted between them from the speed at which Ruby broke the kiss. It was only with the kiss over that Pyrrha realized how every pair of eyes in the room were focused solely on them – except for Yang, who was desperately trying to ignore what had happened, eyes shut, fingers in her ears.

Seeing as they were no longer on a comfortable spot on the couch, Ruby having fallen off Pyrrha's lap, Pyrrha had an idea. Getting up from her spot, and helping Ruby back to her feet, she took the younger redhead's hand before leading her out of the room for some more… _private_ celebrations.

* * *

AU: You know what they say; might as well start the year off with a bang! And by bang I mean shooting Grimm in the head with guns that go bang bang. Yeaaaaaaaah!

Sorry for being a week late for the chapter release! X_X I just was not feeling up to it last week! In fact I've been sorta in a writing muck as of late. BUT NO MORE! :D (I hope) Also, I'm planning on making up the missing week's chapter in the near future, tentatively on Tuesday!

New _Acceptance_ chapter later today (a long one to boot!), and possibly a _Dilation_ chapter before that too!

This was so sappy that Cynd died of sugar intake. RIP Super Saiyan Cyndaquil. His final words were: "Let them know you'll continue Spectrum in my name, with 1000% more fluff".

Thanks for reading everyone and I hope everyone had a great New Year's!


	18. Chapter 18

Ruby liked to think she was one smart cookie, however the predicament she was in would show otherwise.

It had become a contest of will; not will-power or the like, but when _will_ Ruby finally admit defeat?

Ruby lamely shook her head, trying to empty those thoughts out of her head: _I have to win! For the sake of spoon equality!_

* * *

It had all started when Yang had bought the box set of Ruby's favourite movie series. A series that an incredibly important red-head in Ruby's life had never seen besides the first movie.

It went without saying that the following weekend had to be spent watching all eight movies in a row. No if-and-or-buts! Somewhere along the line, everyone in Ruby's small friend circle had decided that it'd be fun to drop in, turning it into a movie extravaganza. Preparation was done, popcorn was made, lien was pooled for food delivery – despite Weiss pointing out that she could just as easily pay for everything with her monthly allowance. In short, Ruby and her girlfriend (and friends) were all ready to marathon the series.

There had been some debate on seating, it was remarkably hard to arrange eight teens in a dorm room and still see the movie. The end result had been fitting most of them on a single couch, with Ruby sitting on Pyrrha's lap.

The marathon had been going great until Pyrrha had to go to the bathroom in between movies, leaving Ruby in their spot, alone. As Ruby sat in the still warm spot, she had a great idea!

 _Pyrrha could sit on my lap, then I could be the big spoon!_

At the time it'd seemed like the perfect chance to be the big spoon, a position that Ruby was finding herself increasingly less in. _Sure, Pyrrha's a bit taller, but it should be that much of a difference, right?_

Pyrrha of course objected to it.

"Are you sure?" Pyrrha glanced at Ruby and back at the screen. "I'm not quite as light as you and what-if you can't see the scr-"

"It'll be fineeeeeeee!" Clearly Pyrrha didn't believe it as she stayed rooted, unconvinced, in front of the couch. Making a face, Ruby took matters into her own hands, pulling Pyrrha into her lap. "See, its fine!"

"If you're sure." Pyrrha glanced back at Ruby, who gave her a thumbs up, before her focus was drawn to the start of the next movie.

Mission success; I am the big spoon now! Next mission object: find a way to see the movie!

As much as Ruby didn't want to admit it, Pyrrha had been right; she couldn't see the movie. No, I can see the movie, it's just Pyrrha's shoulder cuts off three-quarters of the screen! Wiggling back and forth, Ruby couldn't find a better angle, rather, it just drew Pyrrha's attention, the taller teen glancing back at her. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather sit on my la-"

"I can totally see the movie!"

"But I wasn't asking about that…" Pyrrha slowly trailed off.

Ruby's eyes darted around, _you have to be convincing Ruby; convince her that you totally can see the movie, even though I haven't seen a single bit of this movie yet!_ "Uhhhh but you were going to, riiiight?"

"Maybe?" Pyrrha perplexedly said. "You just look really uncomfor-"

"Ruby stop being stubborn, and get in your girlfriend's lap." A certain big sister's voice spoke up form next to the two as someone paused the movie. "You haven't stopped fidgeting since she sat down… I don't even think you can see the movie either."

"I can totally see the movie!" Ruby protested as Yang rolled her eyes. ""Harry just learned how to do a patronus!"

"What's a patronus?" Pyrrha asked as Ruby finally rocked enough to the side to see where the movie had paused; the protagonists had just gotten on a train.

"…fineeee." The teen couldn't help but pout as Pyrrha sat up letting Ruby get up and sit back down on her old spot.

 _This isn't over yet!_

* * *

More than half a day later, the marathon was over and its attendees were finding their ways to bed, or the most comfortable spot on the floor in Nora's case.

By some string of luck, or the fact that Pyrrha had fallen asleep during the post-marathon discussion, Ruby and she had stayed on the couch. As Ruby yawned loudly, a thought jolted her awake;

 _I can be the big spoon tonight!_

… _I just need to get out of Pyrrha's arms first. And get behind her. Somehow._

That was easier said than done. The first issue was problematic in its own right, Pyrrha holding on to Ruby tightly around the waist. Plus Ruby was trying to do it without waking up the girl in question. _Come on Ruby, you've figured your way out of far trickier situations before._

Several minutes of thinking later, Ruby was still coming up with a blank when Pyrrha rolled over, her slack arms letting go of the smaller teen. This also perfectly presented Pyrrha's back to Ruby. _Don't look a gift llama in the mouth I think is the saying?_

Ruby wasted no time in looping her arms around Pyrrha's gut and pressing herself up against her back. Chalk up one win for me! Ruby happily noted as she started to drift off to sleep.

…or would have, had Pyrrha not rolled back over, squarely on top of her.

 _Ow ow ow ow! This isn't what I wanted!_ The weight of her girlfriend suddenly lying on top of Ruby was suddenly making it very hard to breathe. Yet she had to endure it, after finally getting to be the big spoon after so long, she wasn't going to give up on it now!

 _You can do this Ruby!_

As the minutes ticked on, Ruby tried her best, in vain, to find some kind of comfortable position under her far larger girlfriend's sleeping form. No matter what way she wiggled, Pyrrha's back was firmly planted on Ruby's chest.

The hope that she could just acclimate to the new position was fading as any attempt to relax was hampered by the fact that it was hard to breathe and that Pyrrha weighed a considerable amount – not that Ruby would ever say that out loud, mind you! Plus she is like… six feet tall after all, of course she weighs more than me!

Still, Ruby tried to tough it out.

After ten minutes Ruby realized that sleep was most definitely not going to come to her while trapped under Pyrrha. _Should I wake her up? That'd definitely get her off of me, but then she'd probably feel really REALLY bad for crushing me even if it wasn't her fault!_

It was during this panic that Pyrrha rolled back over, and with little surprise, Ruby jumped at her chance, a pile of rose petals covered the spot she'd been stuck in her place. Standing in front of her sleeping girlfriend, Ruby quickly came to a decision, nestling herself against Pyrrha's front. Moments later muscled arms wrapped around her.

 _I'll be the big spoon next time, I swear!_

* * *

AU: I'm rooting for you Ruby!

I ADDED ABOUT 250 WORDS THIRTY MINUTES AFTER POSTING! Just so everyone knows!

I don't even know what to say here after that episode… things happened. *sighs loudly while slumping against a chair in a Pyrrha shirt*

Okay so the two people I showed this chapter to before release were happy with it, so I'm gonna release it as is. Also, as of right now the website is having some massive issues with trying to find stories through the archives, so I may take it down and repost it tomorrow, so just be aware of that!

One more thing: I have an idea for a possible three-shot Pyrrha/Ruby soulmate/soulbond AU story and I've been debating either making it, its own story or just sticking it in Spoon Equality between weekly chapter updates. I'm on the fence about that, what do you guys and gals think?

Thanks for reading and have a great day everyone!


	19. Chapter 19

Yang liked to think of herself as a good big sister.

She'd been there for Ruby whenever the girl was in need. If Ruby was sad, Yang would try her darnedest to make her smile through pretty much any means, no matter how goofy. It was with no small amount of pride that she had watched Ruby mature into a capable young woman. Although, it had been surreal to watch her little sister and Pyrrha date.

Somehow Ruby, awkward, dorky Ruby, had nabbed Pyrrha 'Invincible Girl' Nikos. Yang couldn't be prouder. Yet the fact she had to let go of her place as the one that could make Ruby smile the most was… hard. But it was worth it to see the goofy smile that Pyrrha's presence brought out of Ruby.

However, the usual silly smile that Ruby had, was quite upside down now and it was her girlfriend's fault. "But what else should I do?" Her silver eyes darted from the closed door to team JNPR's room to Yang.

"I think you've done as much as you can, Rubes." Yang nodded towards the aforementioned dorm wherein the problem lay. "It's not like it's your fault, right?"

The shorter girl shook her head. "B-b-but that's just it! I made the food night before she got sick." Yang raised an eyebrow while Ruby despondently huffed, her gaze focusing on her own feet. "I know Pyrrha isn't gonna be mad at me or anything, but it's my fault still…"

Yang thoughtfully tapped on her chin as she watched her little sister sullenly stare at the floor. _Alright Yang, Ruby is sad, time to fix this!_ Naturally that brought up the next question: _how?_ Anything Yang could do to make Ruby happy, would get reversed by her guilt over making Pyrrha sick.

A light bulb sparked in Yang's head; _I just need to look at it in a different way!_

Abruptly, Yang gripped Ruby by both shoulders, grabbing her attention. "Well Rubes, you poisoned your girlfriend." The younger teen groaned loudly, missing the cheshire-like smile spreading across Yang's face. "Time to give her some 'special' treatment!"

Eyebrow's furrowed with confusion at the words before Ruby caught the grin and confusion turned into concern. "Y-Yang, what ar-r-re you go-eep!" Ruby interrupting herself as Yang dragged her by the hand in the direction of the academy's airbus terminal.

"C'mon sis, you'll see!"

* * *

"Are you sure this is gonna make Pyrrha feel better?" Ruby's inquisitive sounded from behind the bathroom door.

"Yup! She'll be back on her feet in no time!" Of that, Yang was certain, _and if it doesn't get some kind of reaction, well, she probably should be in the hospital._

After a surprisingly short trip to Vale's shopping mall, Yang had been sure her little sister would have been… less cooperative to the idea, the sisters had returned to the Academy's grounds. _I guess the thought that Pyrrha might actually feel better is a good way to motivate Rubes!_

The doorknob rattling, alerted Yang to take a step away as Ruby shyly stepped out. "A-a-are you sure this is a gre-"

"Yup!" Yang yanked Ruby by the arm before dragging her off to across the hall to a certain tall red head's room. "Time to see if it worked!"

"Yaaaaaang! I can walk myself!" Ruby weakly protested.

"Sure 'bout that sis? Last time I checked you weren't too good in high heels."

"Yeah, but I got better!" The silent curious stare from Yang got the remarkably closed mouthed girl to open. "Pyrrha helped me practice in her's…"

"So then, it'll be no problem for you!" Yang ever so gently knocked on the JNPR dorm door before calling out in a sing-song quality. "Candy-gram for a Miss Pyrrha Nikos!~"

"…Is that you, Yang?" A quiet voice asked from behind it.

The blonde sighed after a moment. "Yeah it's me, can you unlock the door?" A frown briefly flitted across Yang's face before muttering, "No one ever believes it's a candy-gram."

"What's a candy-gram anyway?" Ruby asked from behind Yang.

"It's-" The dorm's lock clicked open. "-a story for another time!" The blonde brought Ruby from behind her to the door before encouragingly pushing her towards the dorm, "Break a leg sis!" Ruby looked at Yang, the at the door, the back at Yang. An air confidence that the blonde didn't see much in her little sister was just rolling off her in palpable waves before Ruby nodded, and opened the door and walked in.

"Welp. That takes care of that!"

Yang started to merrily skip back to her dorm before she realized that Ruby hadn't closed the door, as evident by a very un-muffled sound of high heels on floorboards. _I maaaay want to close that for them._ Spinning around on her heels, Yang was treated with a view to a sight that she found hard to look away from.

"What's up Yan- Ruby?"

"Ta-da!" Ruby gave a small twirl as Pyrrha gaped. "Nurse Ruby is here to make you feel better!"

True, the uniform that Ruby was wearing was something that no hospital would ever use, but even Yang had underestimated its effect as Pyrrha's face became redder then her own hair. Leaning over to put a hand on the tall girl's forehead, Ruby's increasingly nervous prancing became panicked. "Pyrrha, you're burning up! I thought you were getting better, not worse! Maybe we sh- eep!"

The less careful steps that Ruby had started to take while in high-heels ended up with her fall over onto Pyrrha. Not that Pyrrha minded considering her face was currently pressed against Ruby's front, the tall red head's face turning brighter red by the second. .

 _That's a successful mission if there ever was one!_ Yang gently closed the door, so as to leave the two red heads in her life to themselves.

"Pyrrha owes me big time."

* * *

When Weiss started to question where the team leader was for studying, Yang had decided that perhaps the right thing to do, would be to intrude on the lovebirds herself. _Plus I'll have something to tease big and little red about!_

Jauntily skipping across the hall, Yang went to knock on the door, or would have, had it been closed. _Oops, I must have forgotten to close it all the way._

Tiptoeing her way inside, Yang was greeted with an unexpected sight. While she had been expecting, well, something of the lewder variety to of taken place, the opposite seemed to be the case. Pyrrha's head was laying in Ruby's lap, as the smaller girl softly read out loud a book that Yang vaguely recognized as one of the fairy tales she used to read the small teen when she was much smaller.

Yang raised a finger and opened her mouth to say something, yet the words died in her throat. Ruby was smiling larger then she had in days, and Yang wasn't going to be the one to make her frown. Quietly edging her way out of the room, the blonde decided on a new plan.

 _How should I distract Weiss for an hour…?_

* * *

AU:This is actually my first time doing something from Yang's POV for really anything except maybe snippets of Dilation. Did I do good or bad?

Sorry for not posting much last week... I was rather sick, which might be why this chapter is about sick Pyrrha. Its better the what Cyndaquil wanted to have Pyrrha be sick with, which was cancer X_X

I'll try and post a new chapter of Dilation Tuesday, no promises. Very small amounts of progress have been done for Acceptance over the last week, so its gonna be a very late release, possibly in March this time. On the plus side, Jo3mm is currently doing cover art for Acceptance! So that's neat!

Thanks for reading everyone and have great day! :D


	20. Chapter 20

_I will be the big spoon tonight!_

Ruby may have lost the game of the evening, - _how was I supposed to know that Pyrrha was almost as good as Ren at DDR?!_ \- but by no means was she planning on being the small spoon tonight, no sir!

The small teen had a plan even, the most brilliant of plans conceived after many hours of grueling planning; when Pyrrha was asleep, Ruby would ever so stealthily sneak over the tall huntress and position herself as the new big spoon and if Pyrrha asked any questions, she'd act as if she knew nothing!

 _This plan is foolproof!_

Now just came the waiting part. _Pyrrha usually falls asleep pretty quick, so it shouldn't be too long! Plus DDR tires you out!_ Ruby was by no means a very patient person, although she'd gotten better at it, especially when motivated properly. Being the big spoon was all the motivation she'd need.

So she waited. And waited.

Waiting for Pyrrha's breath to even out. Listening carefully as Pyrrha clutched Ruby against her oh-so-soft chest. The rhythmic breathing finally came after what could have been seconds or minutes.

 _I should wait just a bit longer just to be sure!_ Ruby yawned loudly, _just have to wait another five minutes…_

* * *

Tonight will be the night!

Sure, the previous night's attempt had failed miserably due to falling asleep while making sure Pyrrha was asleep, but this time she had a plan! _Well, I guess it'd be another step in the plan? Or would it be a subsection to a step in the plan? Or would this be plan version II? Then again, it's just one more step._

While waiting for Pyrrha to fall asleep and be assuredly asleep, Ruby had a backup system so she wouldn't fall asleep. Ruby would pinch her arm to stay awake!

 _As Doctor Oobleck would say, genius!_

Minutes passed as Pyrrha's breathing became rhythmic, Ruby listening to the calming sound of it, her eyelids droopin-

 _No! Must stay awake!_ A helpful, but slightly painful pinch later and Ruby was more or less awake. Glancing over to the wall mounted clock, barely visible in the moonlight showed that it had indeed been several minutes since the two had gone to bed. _Perfect!_

Step two of the master plan- _or is it step three? Does pinching count as a step or substep_? – was crawling over Pyrrha to get behind her, a simple task for one as skilled as Ruby…

…or it would be if Ruby could wiggle her way out of Pyrrha's arms. The tall red head's muscled arms were locked around her and weren't budging no matter how much Ruby tried to squeeze them apart. _If I move too much, it'll probably wake her up too…_

After a good ten minutes Ruby settled into being the little spoon for the night.

* * *

 _Third time's the charm, right?_

Ruby didn't have another sub-step or addendum for the plan now. Nope, instead all she had was dumb luck and wishful thinking that perhaps Pyrrha's arms wouldn't be so tight around her tonight.

It was about fifteen minutes after the two had gone to bed before Ruby tried to wiggle out and escape. For some inane reason, Pyrrha's hold of her was not as tight this night, the older teen's arms rather loosely draped around Ruby.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Ruby angled herself properly and started to crawl over Pyrrha. First a hand then carefully setting one leg on Pyrrha's other side. That way, she could shift her weight and bring the other half of her over Pyrrha without creaking the bed too mu-

"R-Ruby, why are you straddling me?" Pyrrha mumbled, her emerald eyes heavily lidded. "Is something wrong?"

 _Abort! Abort! Abort!_ Ruby started to panic as she desperately sought out an excuse. "Uhhhh I had to go to the bathroom?" Flawless excuse!

"Oh. Alright." Pyrrha sleepily whispered, as Ruby slowly started down the bunkbed.

About a minute later Ruby crept out of the bathroom. _Maybe she fell back asleep? Yeah, then I can just continue with the plan, yeah!_ However, that wasn't the case as the moment Ruby got even close to Pyrrha, the taller redhead's arms wrapped around her, pulling the shorter of the top into the ever familiar small spoon position.

* * *

Ruby was pouting at Pyrrha.

Sure, Ruby had wiggled easily out of her arms, -and Pyrrha didn't have a tight grip on her that night - having waited long enough for Pyrrha to fall asleep and managed to stay awake herself. Now came the hard part. Getting around her girlfriend so Ruby can be the big spoon.

 _It's not fair! It shouldn't be this hard… actually, how do I keep losing the evening game?_ That was a better question that Ruby asked herself. _Pyrrha used to be really bad at them, especially at video games! Aaaand I just lost at my favourite fighting game tonight… how? Why?_

Deep down, Ruby knew why _, it's because I've been getting distracted with planning this-this thing! Trying to do all this sneaky stuff! It's not working! Either that, or Pyrrha has gotten a lot better at gamin-_

"You can't sleep?" Pyrrha blearily asked. Normally it would have at least startled Ruby, but she was fuming too much to even be alarmed.

"I guess." Might as well try the one way I haven't, Ruby steeled herself before asking. "Can I be the big spoon tonight? Pleaseee?"

Pyrrha's brow furrowed as she propped herself up to get a better look at her clearly more awake other half. "But I won the game tonight…"

"Pleeeease?" Ruby tried the dirtiest trick in her book, the big puppy dog eyes. The eyes that worked on Yang without fail, the eyes that –when used sparingly – also worked on Weiss. The most secret of all the techniques known to Ruby Rose. "Pleaseeee Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha got one look at her before sighing and rolling over. "I suppose, but just for tonight!"

"Yay!" Ruby happily clamped around Pyrrha's back, her fingers barely able to lock around her front.

 _Maybe I should try the puppy dog eyes first, next time?_

* * *

AU: This IS called _Spoon Equality_ after all, it's not like Ruby is going to forget it anytime soon! Callback to the Harry Potter chapter. Ruby doesn't forget!

I really do suggest everyone read the omake today:P

 **I APOLOGIZE GREATLY FOR TAKING THIS CHAPTER DOWN YESTERDAY, PLEASE FORGIVE MEEEEEEE! D:**

I don't think an episode has made me quite as happy as episode ten has. Literally just… I'm so happy that any approaching darkness barely registers as a blip on my radar. For my sponsor readers, you clearly know why my face has a huge grin on it now. For all you non-sponsors… you'll know tomorrow :D

I'm going to try for a _Dilation_ chapter tomorrow, but no promises! In other news, I'm in the process of commissioning art (from Jo3mm) for my bigger Pyrrha/Ruby story, _Acceptance_. I figure most people who read this have read that or wouldn't mind some new Pyrrha/Ruby art at the very least! (I'm still excited from last week, okay?)

Thanks for reading everyone and have a great day! :D

 **EDIT: EMAIL ISNT SENDING FOR ALERT, WILL RE-POST TOMORROW**

* * *

 **Omake** :

Ruby woke with a smile on her face. _I can't believe it work! I'm finally the big spoon after a week! This ca…ca…. what?_

Instead of Pyrrha being in front of her, seeing as Ruby was the big spoon, the tall redhead was no-where to be seen. _Maybe she just woke up early?_ As Ruby pondered this she noticed a sensation around her stomach.

A pair of muscled arms wrapped around her. Very familiar arms. Attached to said arms, as Ruby craned around to see, was Pyrrha. Who was snoozing behind Ruby.

Ruby was still the little spoon.


	21. Chapter 21

**IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ:**

Okay so, quick thing; last weekend when I posted the email alert didn't send. Which was bad. I pulled the chapter and reposted a few minutes later with no success. Then in my stupidity I pulled chapter and posted it the next day when the alerts finally sent. Problematically… the story didn't update. Basically, a lot of you may not have read chapter 20 due to posting issues, so take a chance to go back and read it!

Thank you and enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Pyrrha was feeling distinctly un-Pyrrha-like.

Perhaps it was the fact that Pyrrha had an annoyed look on her face, or was lacking her usual patience by this point, or even the fact she was no-where near calm that made the tall redhead feel unlike herself.

"I just want to make some damn cookies for my girlfriend! Is that too much to ask for?!" It seemed so, considering Pyrrha had not one, but two ruined batches of chocolate chips cookies sitting in the trash.

The intent behind making cookies was simple; cookies made Ruby happy. Pyrrha liked making Ruby happy. Ergo, cookies were being made. Plus it was a nice little thank you to her girlfriend for taking care of Pyrrha while she was sick.

That's not to say Pyrrha wouldn't make cookies for Ruby any day of the week, but these were more special cookies. Cookies that came from a recipe that Yang had slipped to Pyrrha in an envelope titled 'In case you need to apologize to Ruby' when the two had started dating. Thankfully, Pyrrha had yet to need the recipe enclosed within the envelope for its intended purpose –i.e. to apologize to Ruby- but she figured it'd make a special gift.

The first batch had been going well; Pyrrha had reserved the student kitchen as well as gathered all the necessary ingredients. True, the sloppy, nearly impossible to understand handwriting that clearly belonged to Yang was the only real difficulty… but on the other hand, Pyrrha had needed to read Yang's handwriting before. _It isn't that hard!_ Or so she had thought.

Pyrrha's first inkling of a mistake was when smoke started to burst from the oven in spurts when she opened it up. While she thought it was odd, it wasn't alarming until she looked at the finished product. Instead of freshly baked cookies, what greeted Pyrrha were charred circles, which were halfway on their way to ash.

No matter, Pyrrha had reserved the kitchen for the whole afternoon; she'd built in time to the schedule in case of a mistake like this.

Rereading the instructions, Pyrrha realized the error was in a 1 that looked disturbingly close to a 7. Checking the instructions again for any errors, Pyrrha started the second batch. After starting up the oven a second time and placing the dough inside said oven, Pyrrha's scroll went off. It was Jaune.

Seeing as they had a large essay due tomorrow and Jaune hadn't quite yet started on it, understandably he was quite panicked. Towards the end of their talk, a very familiar burnt smell started to waft through the air. In her desire to help Jaune, Pyrrha had completely forgotten to keep an eye on the timer.

Another failure.

However the third time was the charm. _This is it!_ Pyrrha was watching the timer like a hawk. She'd reread all the instructions numerous time.

The very moment it hit the proper time, the cookies were out of the oven. Unlike Pyrrha's previous two attempts they were distinctly not-burnt and looked like actual cookies. A marked improvement _. I suppose I just needed to pay more attention was all?_ It certainly seemed that way.

 _If memory serves, Ruby said she'd be studying with Weiss for another hour at their dorm_. Pyrrha allowed a small smile to stretch her lips as she picked the tray, _it'll be wonderful to give her t-_

Ruby's ringtone went off.

Instinctively Pyrrha reached for her scroll, before realizing her error. One hand was not enough to balance a tray of cookies, after all, it was a _lot_ of cookies. The tray went careening into the ground. Not even a last minute attempt at a save with her semblance saved a single cookie from hitting the ground.

Pyrrha was feeling very un-Pyrrha like.

* * *

Ruby was worried.

Pyrrha hadn't sounded very… happy over the phone. In fact she sounded down right exasperated. Ruby had just wanted to see what her girlfriend was doing, seeing as she finished her homework early and instead of making plans to go out on a date for the night, the small red head was worried about her taller, better half.

It wasn't like Pyrrha had snapped at her or anything, no, Ruby had never heard her girlfriend ever do that. Rather, Pyrrha sounded stressed. Extremely stressed. Going out probably wouldn't be very relaxing for her, would it?

So Ruby decided she was gonna cheer Pyrrha up!

She'd found an anime that Ruby was completely certain that Pyrrha was going to like, had order her girlfriend's favourite pizza and had pushed the couch in front of the screen for some marathon-y goodness.

Now Ruby just had to _find_ her girlfriend.

Surprisingly, it was the smell of cookies that led her to said girlfriend. The student kitchen's door left open by only a crack as the heavenly smell of baked goods wafted out. It was a pleasant surprise discovering Pyrrha at the origins of such a good smell, the tall girl just pulling out the tray covered in cookies as Ruby walked in. "Are you making cookies?!"

Pyrrha remained silent as slowly set down the tray on the counter, her posture tense before breathing a huge sigh of relief. "That is correct, would you like one?" The stress that had been so thick in her voice was gone as a wide smile tugged at her lips as Pyrrha gingerly handed a cookie to her.

Taking a bite into the warm cookie was an experience that Ruby had never had before. It was divine, it tasted like what heaven must feel like. All of Ruby's tastes buds were on happy. It was beyond great.

"Hehe, I take it you like it then?" Pyrrha asked after a minute of Ruby being struck still in awe. "We have plenty of more where…where….no."

Ruby was pulled unwillingly from her daze to her girlfriend. Pyrrha looked heartbroken, as if everything she'd ever strived for had been taken away. Worse than the one time Weiss failed a test. It was with trepidation that Ruby followed Pyrrha's gaze towards the tray of cookies.

They were gone.

Not only were they gone but in their place was a rather content looking corgi.

"Zwei!"

* * *

AU: Pyrrha really is going to need that anime and pizza Ruby after the day she has had!

Yang is a helpful big sister, giving a way to apologize to Ruby in case Pyrrha ever screwed up haha.

I don't have much to say today; Acceptance is either going to go into final editing this week or need a rewrite. Dilation should have a single chapter up this week (I'm going slowly through it).

I AM REALLY SORRY ABOUT PULLING THE CHAPTER LAST WEEKEND AND I STILL FEEL TERRIBLE, FORGIVE MEEEEEEEEE!

I guess have an omake? I suppose?

Have a great day everyone and thanks for reading! :D

* * *

 **Omake:**

The sheer look of joy on Ruby's face from the cookie made the aggravation of the past few hours totally worth it. This was the happiest that Pyrrha had ever seen her girlfriend, her big silver eyes staring lovingly at the cookie. Yang wasn't kidding when she said that they were powerful, even I was starting to ha-

"Pyrrha~" Ruby's singsong voice immediately drew Pyrrha's attention, those big silver eyes gazing up at her with the upmost love and adoration. "Marry me~"

 **THUD**

As Ruby frantically helped Pyrrha up from the ground, the tall redhead was realizing she wasn't ready for how potent these cookies were.

The first thing Pyrrha did was reserve a spot in the student kitchen for an afternoon before going out and buying all the ingredients


	22. Chapter 22

Pyrrha was woken up by the air being pushed out of her lungs.

Naturally, the tall redhead tried to pry the offending arms off her torso. Or would have, had Ruby not been gripping onto her as if her life depended on it. As Pyrrha calmed down and focused, it became very clear that she wasn't actually being suffocated by her smaller half but that didn't make it any less worrisome.

The rapid breathing on the nape of neck, the small tremors racking Ruby's body as she was pressed from behind was all indications of a nightmare. Pyrrha frowned as she went about waking up Ruby, to save her from the nightly terrors.

They'd been getting more and more frequent in the past few weeks; Pyrrha didn't know why still. _Ruby's grades have been fine and we haven't had any drama going on with our friends… even our date last night was spectacular,_ Pyrrha felt a blush start to form as Ruby was roused out of her thrashing.

The moment Ruby's silver eyes focused on Pyrrha she only latched onto her tighter. Pyrrha was already hugging back before the silent sobs started to wrack Ruby's small form. "Shh, I'm here Ruby, I'm here." Pyrrha's quiet reassurances only got Ruby to bury her head deeper against the crook of the tall redhead's neck.

"I hate this." Ruby mumbled after a few minutes much to Pyrrha's surprise. "I hate that every time I fall asleep, I have these stupid nightmares. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!"

Pyrrha paused before replying softly. "Is there anything I can do? It hurts to see you like this…"

"Just don't go." Ruby's voice sounded childlike, the tone worming into Pyrrha and breaking her heart. "Please don't go."

"I promise I won't go Ruby, I promise." There was no hesitation in Pyrrha's voice. "I would never abandon you." Ruby numbly nodded as she continued to cling to Pyrrha as if the taller girl was her only lifeline.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Ruby, and I always will." The two stayed there, clinging together. When the sobs finally started to subside Pyrrha did something she seldom did.

Pyrrha started to sing.

It wasn't a lively tune or particularly loud and nowhere near as beautiful as Weiss' voice, but it did its trick. The flowing words of her native tongue had an almost palpable effect on Ruby; the younger redhead relaxing immensely in Pyrrha's embrace, the tension evaporating from her form.

Before Pyrrha knew it, Ruby was snoozing quietly against her, the younger girl's arms still wrapped around her even through sleep. That'd didn't mean Pyrrha was going to sleep however.

Pushing the pillows from the bed against the head wall, Pyrrha leaned into a half recline position, Ruby still cradled against her as she continued to gently hum the tune. Ruby wasn't going to like the fact that Pyrrha was about to spend the rest of the night up to make sure her smaller half got restful sleep… but then again, Pyrrha would do anything for her redhead.

 _I promise I'll always be here for you Ruby_. Pyrrha was never going to abandon the one she loved.

 _I love you._

* * *

AU: There is a reason this chapter is short. **You may not to want to read further if you haven't seen the volume 3 finale.** **Spoilers**. This is your only warning.

Right so I am a total and utter mess right now. I've been on the verge of breaking down into tears for the better part of two days now since I saw the episode yesterday. So forgive me if the quality of the writing is done since I'm doing this mostly through tears and lack of sleep from emotional turmoil.

My muse is dead and I feel lost.

A bit of back story from me:

Back in October of 2014, I realized that I legitimately had nothing that made me happy in my life and that I needed SOMETHING. The only thing that I really liked and watch at the time (having gotten into the series right after the dance episode from volume 2 premiered) was RWBY.

I delved headfirst into the fandom and through fanfiction I felt… happy. Pyrrha made me the happiest. Whenever I felt down I could think of her and it was like a little ray of sunshine to brighten me up. Now whenever I think about her, I just feel sad. Sadder then when my ex dumped me.

I understand and can say this with little exaggeration that I'm one of the most well-known Pyrrha-centric authors in the fandom. I know if I just stopped writing people would be sad. I know that it's not something that Pyrrha wouldn't have wanted (even if she is a fictional character). She just means… a lot to me. Like a lot a lot. And now she is dead.

Throughout this volume I always stated that if Pyrrha died, I'd finish up my writing and leave the fandom. At present that seems to be the case, although I may continue on much more irregularly schedule after the big stories are completed with _Spoon Equality_. At least then Pyrrha continues to live on in some small way.

It just… hurts so much now. I feel really sad inside and just… empty. I'm sorry that most of this chapter was author's note, I really REALLY needed to get this off my chest.

My emotional tether to the series has been cut after this episode. Sure I like some of the characters, but when you've written about two Harry Potter books of words from a character's POV and she dies… it hurts. It hurts a lot. Pyrrha is a character in which it is the easiest for me to write. If my outward actions are how Ruby acts, my inner thoughts are how Pyrrha thinks. And now she is gone.

Sorry, just emotional over here and… I needed to speak up.

 _Acceptance_ is going to be postponed for a little bit as work on _Wrath_ will be picking up as I'm in that mindset. I don't know when _Acceptance_ Chapter 19 will be released but I'd like to do its one year anniversary.

Thank you for all the people have been messaging me, I really REALL appreciate it. Leaving me messages means a lot because I really am an emotional wreck after this episode.

I just decided some fluff could be done and it's not very good and I'm really sorry but this is all I got today. I have more planned for a Valentine's day special which will be next week if I can motivate myself to do it. I'm really sorry for the inconvenience.

I hope everyone has a better Valentine's day then me.


	23. Chapter 23

Ruby had screwed up.

She'd messed up so badly that Yang wasn't even teasing her about it level of screwed up. _I'm going to disappoint Pyrrha so much…_

The day of love was coming up, the one in which everyone put aside time for their special someone, took them out on a date, gave gifts, y'know, generally the most romantic day of the year. Unlike previous years, Ruby _had_ a special someone now to spend it with. Ergo, it had to be the most special date of their relationship _ever_!

Of course Ruby had booked a fancy restaurant to take Pyrrha to and of course she'd had a really, _really_ special gift to give her. Or, she would of, had she realized that THE day was today and not tomorrow. Still, that was salvageable as long as she had a gift. Except her prototype had gone horribly wrong – possibly because she had been stressing too much about the fact that today was the day when she'd been working on it this morning.

Regardless, Ruby was in deep, deep trouble as Yang comfortingly rubbed her back. When in trouble, Ruby went to Yang and when your little sister comes to you in tears, Yang had all the time in the world for her. "C'mon sis, it's not gonna be that bad-"

"But it is!" Ruby mournfully shook her head before cradling it in her hands. "I'm going to let her down so much!"

The look that Yang gave her made Ruby feel the distinct impression that she had said something very stupid. "Ruby, this is Pyrrha 'I-am-the-nicest-person-alive' Nikos we are talking about." Ruby could practically hear the eye rolling Yang must have been doing without looking up. "I am pretty sure that she is just happy to have you show up today."

"…you probably are right." That didn't change it to Ruby however, Pyrrha deserves something! She's my champion. "D-do you think she'd be okay with just going to not…a fancy place?" Ruby had no idea where to take her girlfriend now, all the good places have to be booked solid! I guess that means we're probably going to a burger joint or something.

"Definitely! Ruby, she's your girlfriend, she is going to be happy to just spend the day with you, let alone going out." Yang paused as Ruby started to pull herself together, her vision becoming less blurry as the tears subsided. "Speaking of which, when _are_ you going to talk to her today? It's getting kinda late sis…"

Ruby's head finally left the crooks of her arms and saw the dimming light from the window. _I need to find Pyrrha!_ With her mind made up, she zoomed out of the dorm.

* * *

The one thing that Pyrrha had _not_ been expecting as she went through her calculus homework was her girlfriend running into her at something like Mach two.

After picking herself off the ground, Pyrrha found her girlfriend dazed as she helped her up. "Ruby! Are you okay? …Ruby?"

"Wha-what happened?" Ruby shook her head, her silver eyes focusing on to Pyrrha.

"I was just about to ask you the same question, you just ran into me after all."

"Oh." Ruby's head tilted for a moment before some sort of light bulb clicked in her head. "Oooooh." Evidently the light bulb that clicked was not a good one seeing as her posture immediately drooped, her index fingers nervously poking at each other. "Right, that. Umm…"

Pyrrha's up turned lips morphed into a small frown. "Is something wrong, Ruby?"

"Um. Kinda?" Ruby sheepishly admitted. "I kinda screwed up and I think you're going to be really sad and probably really _really_ disappointed with me and I'm really sorry, please don't hate me!" The long sentence coming out in one burst as Ruby scrunched up, her head bowed in shame.

It took Pyrrha a moment to make sense of the rapid fire words. "Wait, hate you?" She pulled Ruby into a tight embrace. "I'd never hate you."

"A-a-are you sure?" Ruby mumbled a few moments later.

Pyrrha pulled away to look Ruby in the eyes. "I promise Ruby."

"O-oh okay." Ruby nodded. "I kinda… sort of… maybe… uh, I messed up on the reservations for our date and your gift… I'm sorry…"

"Date?" Pyrrha didn't remember them planning on going on a date today at all, _and I'm usually good at keep track of these things_.

"Y'know… for Valentines day…"

Pyrrha's insides went cold. _Today is Valentine's Day?! Oh no, no, no, no!_

Pyrrha may be many things, a students, a teammate, a friend, a cereal mascot, but she had failed at perhaps the most important of these: Ruby's girlfriend.

 _I completely forgot about Valentine's Day!_ Pyrrha had forgotten about the day that was set aside for everyone to tell their partner just how special they were to them, how much they loved their other half. And Pyrrha had entirely forgot about it. _I don't even have a gift to give or a date planned or anything… I thought Ruby was going too busy with what she'd been up to for the last week so I scheduled calculus studying for today. Oh no_. Pyrrha felt worse then terrible, she felt disgusted with herself.

"I'm really sorry." Ruby quietly muttered. "I should have double checked the date o-o-or something. It's all my fault." The short teen's head hung low as she stared at the ground. "It's all my fau-"

"No, I did worse. I, well, I forgot about it entirely." Ruby's head shot up, as her silver eyes curiously peered at Pyrrha, as if she couldn't quite comprehend what she was hearing. "I… I've never celebrated it before, so I didn't realize that it was today. I'm sorry!"

"Wait you didn't have anything planned either?" The team leader asks the question as if she couldn't believe it was real possibility let alone what happened.

"I'm really sorry!" Pyrrha felt pure shame at forgetting about the day that she was supposed to show her love how much she loved her. "And I interrupted you and I'm really sorry, I'm the worst girlfriend ever."

This time it was Pyrrha who found herself as a recipient of a bone crushing hug. "You're the best girlfriend!" Pyrrha found herself melting into the embrace. "We could just postpone it until… next week?" The tall redhead found herself nodding at the thought. "Besides, we can still spend the rest of the day together, right?"

"That sounds like a grand idea." Calculus could wait. Pyrrha was going to spend the rest of the day with her rose.

* * *

AU: Okay this is what I meant to post last weekend but was not feeling up to it. Yes, there is a sequel chapter that will be next week, I promise! :D

I apologize for the quality of the chapter was all over the place, I started writing this pre-finale and then very sporadically over the course of several days, sorry! X_X

I couldn't resist having Ruby apologizing and then Pyrrha interrupting to apologizing and then apologizing to interrupt to apologize. I couldn't resist.

HOLY CRAP, you people are amazing!

I've gotten so much love and support from everyone that I pretty much decided after the 20th review/message that I had to stay strong. I really want to respond to everyone considering the sheer depth that some of these reviews and messages went to, seriously, I've published shorter chapters then them and seeing all of them brightened up my day, no, my week. Which I really needed after that finale.

I'm really sorry if this gets a tad long, but it's quite necessary.

So when I mentioned I'd finish up my stuff and leave, well, there are more then what meets the eye to that. Stories like Acceptance will take me probably two or three years to finish, Dilation will take at least a year and a half. At least. Wrath might take upwards to a year. I also want to go through stories I had outlined but have yet to actually publish like a Schneekos story as well as a handful of shorter Pyrrha/Ruby stories. If I come up with more I will write them but… well, yeah. Things.

I'd like to say I'm feeling better and while that is technically true in a very loose sense, I'm also not quite feeling anywhere back to normal. It still hurts, y'know? I identify with the character to a large degree and now she is dead. Gone. In a few volumes she'll just be that minor character that died in volume three to new viewers.

But, and there is always a but, she won't die a final death until we as a community stop producing content for her. This is the reason I am going to keep going, because she is alive until we stop telling tales about her, that is when she will fade.

I can't do that to her. I really can't.

Grief may have been talking mostly in the last author's note and I'm trying to tone it down in this one to be less of a downer, but I do plan to keep writing Pyrrha to keep her from having a final death… even if it's just infrequent updates to Spoon Equality.

Still, there is a part of me that hurts. I don't blame Kerry or Miles or any of that, I don't see the point personally. They were telling the story that they wanted to tell, who gives us the right to tell them they can't do it? We can disagree with them but that doesn't give us the right to say that we are right and they are wrong.

Someday I hope that I can think of Pyrrha with happiness again instead of tears. That's my hope. That's how I'm pretty sure the character would want to be remembered. With happiness.

Unrelated note, but anyone know someone who could do a Pyrrha plushie? I am more than willing to pay for a commission.

I know a lot of people think or hope that she is going to come back, a view I'm kind of… scared of. I don't want hope to be burst like a balloon but the fact that Arkos, from a Miles tweet, was slated to really grown on people in vol 5 (or was it season 5?) makes me wonder.

If I'm being brutally honest, I want to respond to all of the messages and reviews you guys and gals have left but I just don't know what to say since most of it was going to be here and probably before today if I tried to write a response I'd just end up in tears again. I still want to respond to them and it make take me a while but what you guys and gals said meant a lot to me. It really did.

Thank you. Thank you so much, I can't even express how much those words meant to me :D

As always, thank you for reading and have a great day!


	24. Chapter 24

It was finally time.

A week had passed, Pyrrha and Ruby had actually prepared for the day this time around, plans were arranged, gifts were made, and to say that they were both excited was an understatement.

The date had been fantastic; the two had gone to the first place they'd ever gone on a date to. It was a very, VERY fancy Mistralian restaurant, one which Ruby may have chosen originally on Weiss' suggestion for something familiar to Pyrrha. Unlike their first date where both were nervous wrecks, Ruby especially, they genuinely enjoyed themselves.

Now, it was the part that Pyrrha was looking forward the most – okay, perhaps not the most since she was looking forward to the entire day, but she was looking forward to it quite a bit! While Pyrrha may have had only a week to prepare something, it was time well spent and she felt considerably proud of herself.

"Happy belated Valentine's Day, Ruby." Pyrrha produced from behind her back a big box much to Ruby's confusion. "Go on, open it." Pyrrha felt her lips stretch into an impossibly wide smile as Ruby opened it.

Confusion in those silver eyes melted into wonder and joy as Pyrrha watched her girlfriend reverently pulled the contents out.

If there was one thing that Ruby loved to work with, it was Crescent Rose. Pyrrha had learned her lesson from before about trying to modify her girlfriend's weapon, so it wasn't a modification. Rather, it was something that was far more useful than that.

The highest quality tools that Pyrrha could possibly find for High-Caliber Sniper-Scythe maintenance with Ruby's and Pyrrha's emblems embossed on them.

"I love youuuuu~!" The bone crushing hug and heated kiss told Pyrrha that she had most definitely made the right choice.

"I love you too, my love." Pyrrha finally got out after the two broke apart for air. The huge dopey smile that was pulling at the corners of Ruby's mouth made the taller teen just feel so happy. So when it disappeared in a huge 'O' of surprise, Pyrrha was already wishing it was back.

"I almost forgot!" Ruby took a few steps back before starting to rummage through her back pouch. "I know they are here somewhere, ugh, stupid girl pockets!" Pyrrha patiently waited until Ruby found whatever she was looking for a few minutes later. "Ta-da! Happy late Valentine's Day, Pyrrha!" It took Pyrrha a moment to recognize what Ruby was holding out to her.

The paired objects were raised circles, maybe an inch thick and made out of some type of metal. While identical they were covered in a matching intricate, curving design that seemed oddly familiar, which took Pyrrha a moment to place why they were familiar. It was a seamless merging of their two emblems; Pyrrha's sword and shield and Ruby's rose. "Are these…?"

"Yup!" Ruby nodded enthusiastically before forcing one into Pyrrha's hand. "Since we wear our symbols pretty much the same place on our belt, why not have matching ones? OH!" Ruby's silver eyes had a distinct look of glee in them. "Try using your semblance on it!"

The tall redhead didn't question it, but put a small bit of her semblance into the belt latch only for it to spring open. It was a locket and inside was a picture that Pyrrha had never seen before. The photo was the two of them intertwined in sleep during what Pyrrha knew must have been Dustmas eve.

"I, uh, really dunno how Yang got it, but I saw it when I had to use her scroll and thought it'd be pretty neat to have it, um…" Ruby nervously fidgeted with her hands. "D-do you like it?"

"It's lovely, Ruby!" The taller girl tightly pulled her girlfriend against her and have her a long, lingering kiss. "Thank you."

The goofy smile spread on Ruby's face. "I'm really, _really_ glad it worked out! I thought that it wouldn't and when I made the prototype it kinda exploded when I tried to get the locket bit to open with magnets but t-mmph!"

Pyrrha silenced her talkative rose with her lips.

* * *

Like all good things, the day finally came to an end, the two girls trudging slowly to bed after a very, very long and fun day.

 _I'm going to be the little spoon tonight._

It was a decision Pyrrha had immediately made to herself the moment they had agreed on postponing it a week. _Ruby loves being the big spoon, so there should be no issue._ That was what Pyrrha had thought at least. Problematically, Ruby had fallen asleep the moment her head touched the pillows and before she could be the big spoon.

It took a lot of awkward positioning – especially trying to keep from waking up Ruby – but Pyrrha made sure that when she fell asleep, her girlfriend was definitely the big spoon.

Which was why when she woke up to use the bathroom she was really confused as to how the positions had reversed.

 _How did that happen?_ Pyrrha shook her head, her mind was already made up: Pyrrha was going to be the little spoon tonight for her girlfriend, no matter what! Some careful positioning later and Pyrrha was back where she wanted to be for the night and dozing off.

The tall redhead found herself being pulled back from the realm of dreams as a comfortable weight came to rest against her front. It was a normal feeling for Pyrrha; that comfortable presence was Ruby, naturally. _Except_ , _Ruby was the big spoon so how could she be in front of me?_

Opening sleepy eyes, Pyrrha found Ruby in front of her again, nestled against her chest. However, the act of rousing herself had an unintended effect of causing Ruby to turn over. "Um, did I wake you up?"

Pyrrha found herself shaking her head in a white lie as a thought occurred to her: _does Ruby want to be the little spoon tonight?_ "No, uh, Ruby I thought you liked being the big spoon?"

Ruby stared at her curiously. "Yeah…?"

"Oh. Um. Do you want to be the big spoon tonight then?"

"Uh." Ruby suddenly looked incredibly embarrassed much to Pyrrha's confusion. "I thought you wanted to be the big spoon…"

Suddenly it was making sense to the semi-conscious Pyrrha, the reason for why she kept ending up as the big spoon over the course of the night. Ruby was trying to make her partner happy, just like Pyrrha was trying to do. "You can be the big spoon tonight Ruby."

"But I thought-"

"Nope!" Pyrrha had set her mind to being the little spoon and that was the end of the discussion. "No if-ands-or-buts!" Yet it was clear to Pyrrha that Ruby was still protesting. "If you want to be the little spoon, you can tomorrow night."

Ruby raised a finger, her mouth opening and closing before silently climbing over her larger half and gripping around her stomach. "I love you."

"I love you too, my rose."

* * *

AU: It only took something like two weeks for the actual Valentines special to come out. Sorry! X_X Hope it came out okay, I feel like I rushed the end a bit.

Ruby has literally no clue how Yang got the photo, but Pyrrha knows perfectly well why Yang was in the kitchen. Stealin' the cookies.

Right-o, I'm in a slightly better headspace this week. _Dilation_ finally is going to go back to often updated, (maybe even a chapter tomorrow for it or early in the week) _Acceptance's_ new chapter got sent into editing on Friday so new chapter of that hopefully on March 4th! Hopefully!

Thank you all for the support you guys and girls have given me. It really means a lot to me ^_^ I could ramble and continue to ramble until the cows come home today but I think I've done enough super long messages for a break or two somewhere in there :P

Thank you for reading and have a great day! :D


	25. Chapter 25

"So how did you two get a detention again?"

Pyrrha found herself wishing that she had a hood to turtle up into like Ruby as their friends stared curiously at them. Her face was beet red with embarrassment

"Well…"

* * *

The two of them had been studying together. That was normal, it happened a lot, nothing out of the ordinary what-so-ever.

Pyrrha and Ruby had decided to opt out of going to the library, seeing as it was louder then it usually was with the upcoming mid-terms. Luckily, Pyrrha had been able to find an unused classroom, and with Professor Goodwitch's permission, used it.

As studying tends to do, it takes a while. A long while. It's tedious and boring, especially when its material that's denser then lead. So naturally, Ruby and Pyrrha took breaks every so often from studying, just short, five minute ones.

"Aww." That had gotten Ruby's attention when Pyrrha unconsciously coo'd at a particularly adorable puppy video Nora had sent her. "Want to see something cute?" Of course Ruby was on board, who doesn't like cute things? Since the screen for the scroll was quite small, it made perfect sense at the time for Ruby to sit on Pyrrha's lap so she could see better.

Problematically, the moment that Pyrrha hit the play button, the scroll crashed.

In the rather lengthy time for the device to boot up, Pyrrha found her focus slowly drift to Ruby. Again, that makes sense, after all her girlfriend was pretty much amazing in every way and was currently sitting in her lap. Not just sitting, more like leaning against her.

But what always drew Pyrrha's focus was Ruby's eyes. They were big silver orbs that were filled with joy, happiness, and just a certain amount of glee that always brightened Pyrrha's day. It made her feel so damn happy inside to see those eyes light up, whether it be weapons, or playing video games, or… something that Pyrrha did.

There was one guaranteed way to make those eyes light up that never grew old for Pyrrha, one time tested way to always get Ruby's eyes to sparkle with delight.

A certain hunger entered Pyrrha's own emerald eyes. "Pyrrha, are you ok- mmmph!"

When Pyrrha finally pulled away, - if only for some precious oxygen - the joyful gleam had entered Ruby's eyes. But that wasn't the only thing that had entered; a hunger that Pyrrha knew her own eyes mirrored was there as one of Ruby's hands came to pull lightly on her long crimson hair, while the other arm wrapped around her.

Pyrrha wasn't quite sure when they had left the long forgotten notes at the table, Ruby's legs locking around her waist. Nor was Pyrrha quite certain when they had moved from the unused classroom to the adjacent office. The only thing Pyrrha really was certain about was how it ended.

While giving Ruby a rather lingering kiss to her neck, everything glowed purple for a moment before Pyrrha found herself several yards away from her girlfriend. And hovering.

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING IN MY OFFICE?!"

Pyrrha's insides went cold the moment the voice spoke. She knew that voice well. In fact, it had been the reason they were allowed to use that classroom in the first place. The silver eyes no longer held the same joy they had mere moments ago, rather, they were filled with terror, something that Pyrrha was understanding quite well as she slowly turned to look at the source of the yelling.

Standing there, absolutely fuming, to a point where Pyrrha half expected steam to literally be bursting out of her ears, was Professor Goodwitch.

* * *

"HahahahaAHAHAhahahahahahahahaaaaa…" Yang was literally clutching her stomach from laughing so hard. "You got caught making out on Goodwitch's desk?!"

"Y-yes." Pyrrha was really wishing she had Ruby's hood to hide in – her girlfriend was currently doing an admirable impression of a turtle with it, one that Pyrrha was hoping to emulate herself.

Weiss was pinching the bridge of her nose so forcefully that if wasn't for aura, Pyrrha would have thought she would have pinched right through it. There was clearly a speech that Weiss was trying her hardest to suppress giving, a speech that Pyrrha and Ruby clearly deserved for getting a detention for doing that. Instead of saying anything, or blowing up, Pyrrha watched the white haired girl slowly get up and leave.

Meanwhile, Blake looked more curious, if not with a hint of amusement as she tried to keep from joining Yang in laughter, before returning to her book. Or would have, had Yang's laughter not been so grating on her, given the way her bow kept twitching, the black haired girl leaving the room as well. Still, Pyrrha's face was burning bright with shame and embarrassment even if it was just Yang still there.

"You guys know if you reeeeeeally wanted some alone time, you could have just left a sock on the door, right?" Yang suggested after she had finally quelled her raucous laughter.

"A sock?" Pyrrha's curiosity outweighed her shame when she asked.

"Yeah, just leave it on the door. It's the sign for privacy." Yang was looking at Pyrrha like she had asked what dust was. "I mean, unless you want to find another classro- hey!"

Sometimes Pyrrha's semblance was good for the little things in life - like pushing Yang out of the room and locking the door…

…But not before throwing a sock out after her.

* * *

AU: Less that Pyrrha wants to continue to make out and more "the embarrassment and shame will go away!"

I had a random thought of "THIS NEEDS TO HAPPEN" so you get this chapter. Yup. I think it's pretty funny personally :P Though I worry it being a bit out of character and a forced reason to get Blake out of the room, but eh.

ASSUMING THAT DOESN'T GO DOWN TODAY AGAIN, Dilation will be up in a few hours followed shortly by the long awaited Acceptance chapter! :D

I'll save all my big news stuff for Acceptance, but I just wanted to thank violetaristea for letting me use this AWESOME Pyrrha/Ruby art for a story cover! (And s/he reads Spoon Equality, hello and thank you!) Even more on the art side, the second art commission for Acceptance is done! Look up Jo3mm and Acceptance if you want to find it!

Thank you for reading and hope to see you in the next update in a few hours – if I don't I hope you all have a wonderful day! :D


	26. Chapter 26

Pyrrha knew she should have been worried when Ruby had whisked her off on a 'secret' date.

Rather, Pyrrha had been ecstatic – after all, she always had fun whenever Ruby planned for a date. Not only because it was great to spend time with her energetic girlfriend outside of campus, but because no matter what zany adventure or place Ruby took Pyrrha to, they always found a way to brighten up her day or even week.

What should have tipped it off to the tall redhead was when Ruby was staying unusually tight lipped about where exactly they were going. Usually, the short teen would spill it the moment they got into the airbus… but not this time.

It wasn't until the two arrived at a rather secluded looking arcade that Pyrrha started to get an idea of where this was going. "An arcade?"

"Yup~!" Ruby twirled around to face her before pointing at Pyrrha. "We're going to do the one thing you've never been able to beat!"

Pyrrha's insides went cold as she started to back away in terror. "No, anything but that…"

The tall redhead wasn't able to take more than two steps before her girlfriend put a stop to that. "Aww, please?" Complete with _the_ pout. The one that made Pyrrha entirely certain her smaller half could get away with murder.

"I-I-I'll give it a shot…" That pout turned upside down into a radiant smile letting Pyrrha breathe a sigh of relief.

"Yay!" Ruby grabbed the considerably less excited teen by the hand before leading her into the maze of brightly lit machines – but not before exchanging some lien for game tokens. Their brief journey ended with Pyrrha in front of the machine.

 _We meet again, skee ball machine._

"A-a-are you sure we have to do this?" Just because Pyrrha had agreed to give it a try didn't mean that she was set in actually doing it. "There is a really interesting racing gam-"

"Every ball you get in the hole you get a kiss."

 _Now that's just playing dirty_ , Pyrrha thought as she resigned herself to her fate, _Ruby's pulled out the pout and bribery… I really don't have a chance, do I?_

"Alright Ruby, I'll do it." The redhead answered with a long sigh before the younger one merrily handed her one of the many skee balls that belonged to the machine. Taking another deep breath, she let it out before focusing on the task at hand.

Gripping the ball, not too light or too tightly, she rolled it down the track towards the center vertical line of holes. Pyrrha's breath caught in her mouth as it hit the ramp at the end before smacking into the wall… and rolling into a hole. Success?!

Pyrrha's jubilation was cut short by being gently pulled down for a quick kiss on the lips from her clearly happy girlfriend.

 _Maybe this won't be so bad?_

* * *

Two hours later they were out of game tokens and willpower.

It had been abundantly clear within a few games that the first ball going in had been a fluke of beginner's luck, as the most balls either ended up in the gutter… or bouncing off the cage end and rolling back down the ramp.

To call it mercy that they'd run out of game tokens would be putting it lightly in Pyrrha's mind. No, it was a miracle to the redhead when the large pile was finally nothing more than a memory.

Out of two hours of playing skee ball, Pyrrha had exactly gotten six kisses from her encouraging girlfriend. Only six.

To say that it was relief when Ruby finally led her out of the arcade was the understatement of the year. What was weird, at least to Pyrrha's failure-addled brain was that instead of going straight back home after her less than… stellar-performance, the duo was headed in the opposite direction.

Emerald eyes blinked in surprise as Pyrrha realized Ruby was leading them towards a small ice cream parlor. "Ruby, I… I did really badly. While I appreciate the thought, - and ice cream does sound good right now - we could always just call it a day here."

"Nope~!" Ruby veered sharply at the shop much to Pyrrha's confusion, and instead headed to a rather unused section of space between buildings.

"Wha-"

"Not ice cream!" Pyrrha found herself being pressed lightly against a wall as Ruby strained on her toes before just yanking the tall girl to her level. "You'll see."

Suddenly this day had gotten a lot better for Pyrrha as her girlfriend's hot lips gently caressed her neck.

Much better.

* * *

AU: This has reference to another story I imagine many readers now :P

I felt the ending was a bit abrupt but that's all I could really think of to be honest. Sorry if the quality was a bit off… my mind has been a bit occupied as of late. Working on the MonCon submission (which is at 8400 words now and climbing, OH BOY!) and… Well, kinda had to put my dog down yesterday. Yeah.

Honestly that last reason is why the quality really fell today and this is shorter then usual. I'm sorrry! X_X

A bit more on this but... it wasn't a sudden thing by any means; Stella's health had been failing for a long time. The past few weeks or months its gotten to the point to us having to carry her outside to go to the bathroom... it was just that bad. So it really was time. I could go on, but I think I'll hold off because you guys and gals probably don't need to hear more on it.

Not a good way to start off the weekend... Anywho, I hope everyone liked the chapter and has a good weekend!

Thank you all for reading, and have a great day! :D

P.S. It's also the one year annviersary of Dilation! I'll try and get a chapter up as soon as possible! :P


	27. Chapter 27

When Yang had told Pyrrha she had a surprise for her, the redhead had been expecting something more extreme then what greeted her.

Any illusion of surprise had dissipated the moment she opened the door to team RWBY's dorm and the heavy stench of booze wafted by. Is it just alcohol? Closing the door quickly, so as to not let any authority figures see the complete disregard her girlfriend's team had for the no alcohol policy.

"Heyyyy, you made it." The blonde was splayed out on the floor, leaning against a bedframe, some unearthly concoction in hand. "Just in time for the party!"

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow as she surveyed the mess of bottles, and two very passed out girls; Weiss and Blake, both of whom had somehow ended up on Yang's lap - _well, that's not questionable at all_. "It seems like the party has already ended." There was one member of the team missing from Pyrrha's view. "Where's Ru-"

"Pyrrhaaaaa!" A blur of red collided with Pyrrha, nearly knocking her to the ground. A pair of arms locked around her, as well as legs. "You're here! I missssssed you~!"

"Hello Ruby." Pyrrha gave her clinging girlfriend a quick kiss on the top of the head – not that she could do much else – before her nose scrunched up. "Ruby, have you been drinking too?"

The accusation in her voice only made the shorter teen cling harder to her. "Mayyyybe just a litte?"

Pyrrha shot a rather furious glare towards a certain blonde before turning back to the concern on hand; the redhead that was wrapped around her. "Are you going to be okay? How much did you drink?" Unlike Yang, who was rather large, Ruby was quite small and probably didn't know her limit.

"I'm okaaaay." The muffled redhead drawled against Pyrrha's chest before snuggling deeper against the taller teen's chest. "You're so sooooft."

The head nuzzling against a certain set of assets made it very clear to Pyrrha what Ruby was referring to as a deep blush set in as she sat down on the nearest bed. "Um, thanks Ruby, ar-"

"Oi, Nikos, you know what day it is right?" Pyrrha gave a tentative, if not slightly perplexed nod. "How come ya ain't wearing any green? Pinch her Ruby!"

"No!" Ruby shook her head against Pyrrha's chest. "Pyrrha always has green on her!"

"Oh, really?"

"Yup~!" Ruby finally let go enough to move from Pyrrha's very soft spots to eye level. "Pyrrha's eyes are green."

"Well crap, I guess you are good then… except Ruby doesn't have any green, y'know what that means, right?"

"I'm not going to pinch her." Pyrrha stated, as silver eyes bore into her own emerald ones, entrancing her with them. "That would be taking advantage of her."

"S'kay Pyrrha." Ruby's mouth arced downwards in a sad frown. "I kinda did forget to wear green, you gotta pinch me."

"But-"

"No butts, well, 'cept maybe yours." Ruby sheepishly added. "Your butt is pretty nice."

Pyrrha felt herself turning redder than Ruby's cloak at the compliment. "I, er, uh… thanks?"

"It really is!" Ruby pouted. "You still gotta pinch me! It's not fair if you don't!" The very determined eyes staring at her finally made Pyrrha acquiesced, reaching around and giving a small pinch on Ruby's arm. "Eep!"

The tipsy teen fell forward and latched right back onto Pyrrha. "That wasn't too much, was it Ruby?" The tussled hair shook out a no.

"It's fineee." Pyrrha slowly rubbed the quite quiet teen's back for a few minutes before Ruby spoke up. "How come you settled for me?"

Pyrrha's brow furrowed. "I didn't settle for you-"

"But I'm not all that good anything." Ruby mumbled back. "I'm not a good student, and I'm kinda whiney, and I'm really awkward a lot, and I'm not very pretty-"

"Ruby Rose." Pyrrha pulled the rambling Ruby up so they were back at eye-level. "You _are_ a good student, and you _aren't_ whiney or awkward and I think you are the most _beautiful_ person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting." A frown creased Pyrrha's lips. "Why would you believe any of that?"

"You're like, Weiss-smart, and you never have any problems and get along with, like, everyone." Ruby's eyes refused to meet Pyrrha's, instead darting down. "And you are the prettiest person I've ever met…"

Pyrrha shook her head, her long red ponytail swaying behind her. "That's because you got moved ahead two years, remember? Of course it'd effect your grades. I don't always get along with people, I suppose I just don't show it as well… and perhaps I'm a little bad at telling you my problems-"

"See, if I was a good girlfriend, then I'd be helping you with them." Ruby pouted.

"Or perhaps, I really don't want to bother you with them?" Pyrrha countered. "You are already busy with being a team leader, that I sometimes…" The tall redhead sighed. "I guess I really just don't want to worry you. I'm the bad girlfriend, if anything."

"No you aren't!" Ruby vehemently shook her head. "You are a great girlfriend!"

"So are you." Pyrrha smoothly suggested. "Ruby, you mean the world to me, you know that, right?"

Wide silver eyes finally met Pyrrha's emerald ones. "I-I d-do?"

"Yes." A smile graced Pyrrha's lips. "You are perfect for me."

Ruby's face grew a matching blush. "I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

AU: Okay new chapter!

Wrote this super quick, I hope everyone likes it! I felt like I was required to do a St. Patrick day chapter because drunk Ruby and sober Pyrrha sounded like a hilarious idea at that time haha.

 **IMPORTANT NEWS:**

So, I know from the sheer number of messages and reviews I got that many people feel quite, er, dissatisfied with canon!Pyrrha's fate. Yeah. I actually just posted a MASSIVE one-shot yesterday that I am VERY certain many of you will enjoy. When I say massive, I mean more then 14,000 words massive, and literally me working every day for two weeks straight on it. Quite possibly the work I am the most proud of.

It is called _Regrets_ and it's my entry to this month's MonCon on the RWBY subreddit, the requirements were the character of _Pyrrha Nikos_ and the theme of _Happy endings_ :D

I really do think that it's my best work yet! :P

I just think everyone might enjoy it, is all! OH! New _Dilation_ chapter in a few hours!

Thank you for reading, everyone and I hope y'all have a great day! :D


	28. Chapter 28

"I'm sorry!"

Pyrrha apologized for what must have been the tenth time as they the two stood in a wooden gazebo. "I should have checked the weather before left-"

"It's fine!" Ruby's response was automatic. "You checked the forecast yesterday, the rain surprised us, is all!" Despite her girlfriend's assurances that it was okay, Pyrrha still felt guilty for getting them rained out of their picnic date.

Between the increasing amount of missions they were receiving as upperclassmen, and the rarity of their teams actually being on the same mission or even at Beacon at the same time, dates were becoming harder and harder to plan. Which was why Pyrrha had jumped on the chance, planning out and making an elaborate lunch picnic date, complete with cookies she made herself.

Unfortunately, the weather decided to rain on their parade. Quite literally; the two had barely made it to a park in Vale before water droplets started to rain down en mass. The hopes for a sunny afternoon picnic were thoroughly dashed when Pyrrha checked the weather for the day on her scroll.

"I'm really sorry." Pyrrha murmured as she slumped down against the small structure until she was flat on her butt. "Maybe the rain wil-"

" _Pyrrha_." The cheery tone that usually filled Ruby's voice was replaced by a far more serious one. "It's fine." Silver eyes stared down at emerald ones. "I'm just happy I get to spend some time with you. Plus, now we have the park to ourselves!"

Pyrrha wasn't going to point out that the only part of the park they could go to without getting completely soaked was the small, circular wooden structure they were in, so she just stared down at the ground.

"C'mon Pyrrha, cheer up!" Her short girlfriend pouted. "It's not that bad! We can still have fun." Pyrrha's lackluster response made Ruby's lips compress in determination.

"We're gonna have fun today, I promise!"

* * *

Pyrrha had to admit, having your cute girlfriend feed you sandwiches, while using her lap as a pillow was making the day far better than she'd thought it'd go a mere hour ago.

Ruby had been true to her word; both of the redheads were certainly having fun as they slowly went through the handmade food that Pyrrha had brought. Well, except for the cookies.

Unsurprisingly, the cookies had been the first to go, consumed in the mighty vacuum that was Ruby's stomach. _Does she even taste them?_ Pyrrha had always wondered that, _Ruby just inhales them… she has to, she does have favourite kinds of cookies after all, so she must taste them, somehow._ It really didn't matter that much to Pyrrha, as long as Ruby enjoyed them, it was enough for her.

A question bubbled up to the forefront of Pyrrha's mind as silver eyes stared into her own emerald ones lovingly. "Ruby, is there any kind of cookie you _don't_ like?"

"Welll…" Silver eyes glanced around, as if to make sure no one else was around. "Wanna hear a secret?"

Pyrrha's head bobbled in a small nod. "Sure."

"Strawberry cookies."

The older redhead put a hand over her mouth as she gasped dramatically.

Ruby giggled for a moment at the expression before giving a shrug. "You laugh, buuuuut, they don't taste good together."

"I would never have guessed; the only thing you like more than cookies are strawberries…" While Ruby may have been overt in her loved of baked goods, it took a while until Pyrrha had realized that her better half treasured them more than any cookie.

"It's like, they don't taste as good as strawberries normally do." The teen pouted. "And then I just feel bad for the cookie because it ruined the better thing."

"I would have never of guessed."

Ruby merely smiled. "That's why it's a secret!"

Pyrrha gave a warm smile at the teen. "My lips are sealed."

A gleam entered silver eyes, one that Pyrrha knew well what it heralded. "Well, just to be sure…"

The younger of the two hadn't even started to lean half way down when Pyrrha's soft lips met against hers. That didn't stop Ruby from being dragged down, a hand meshing through her short hair and tugging her to meet the reclining redhead.

It was times like these that Pyrrha cherished; just the two of them, alone and not having to worry about anything at all. Nothing about missions or school, or Grimm. Just the two of them stuck in the rain and cuddles. Cuddles that sometimes turned into kisses.

When Ruby finally did pulled away, if only for the sheer need of oxygen, Pyrrha found that her lips were indeed sealed… by melted chocolate.

Emerald eyes narrowed in playful determination, _oh it was on!_

* * *

AU: And then Ruby and Pyrrha made out in the park gazebo until it stopped raining several hours later. Yup. Redheads kissing is pretty much all I write, I swear lol

Sorry if quality is bad; it's been a crazy week!

Thanks goes to NobleMETA for the prompt. I honestly was just a bit too brain dead to think up one this time around, sadly!

For all of you who read Dilation; its looking highly unlikely I can get a chapter out tomorrow, so you may have to wait till Monday, I'm sorry! D:

In other news, Acceptance chapter 20, has been sent to editing yesterday, so expect a update on Friday!

Finally, for those of you who read Regrets, the contest that it was submitted for is now open for voting! A staggering twenty five fics were submitted, all with the required character of Pyrrha and the theme of happy endings! It's called March Moncon and it's on the RWBY subreddit! Don't forget to vote!

Thank you for reading and have a great day! :D


	29. Chapter 29

Ruby was on edge.

That was natural considering she grew up with Yang and today was the day of pranks, but it was more than that. There was another factor altogether.

The short redhead knew exactly what were her teammates thought of the holiday; Blake had a mild interest, Weiss didn't care and Yang loved it of course, Ruby had very little to go on for her own girlfriend.

Ruby had only heard one thing about the previous year's pranks from Pyrrha's teammates. The look of horror in Nora's face was the most terrified Ruby have ever seen the hammer-user… ever!

At first Ruby hadn't believed. _There is no way Pyrrha could do anything that scary, its Pyrrha! Pyrrha is literally the nicest person I know!_ So Ruby had forgotten all about it… until she woke up to Pyrrha's emerald full of mirth, trying her hardest to suppress her giggling.

So something was definitely was up. Ruby knew that much. The real question was what exactly was up?

Having grown up with Yang, Ruby knew all the easy pranks and how to avoid them. Check all the blind spots, the bucket on the door, switching the ketchup with the mustard… everything was normal.

That could only mean that something far more dastardly was afoot.

 _Perhaps something far more complex? Maybe Pyrrha has other people acting with her!_ Ruby's brain was ablaze with increasingly bizarre conspiracies.

Like the fact that she'd gotten through the first class without one of Yang's expected pranks to go off _. It must mean they are working together!_ It made perfect sense; Yang would totally go to Pyrrha, Ruby would never expect her girlfriend to do anything even vaguely sneaky!

Ruby was a huntress, she was supposed to be ever vigilant, she'd survive whatever they threw at her and come out unscathed!

By the second class period, her resolve was starting to falter. Nothing had happened. Well, correction, something had happened; Weiss had sat on a whoopee cushion which resulted in a rather graceless sound and was currently beating Yang over the head with it until Oobleck finished his coffee and intervened. But nothing involving Pyrrha.

Those mirthful emerald eyes were taunting her! _Pyrrha has to be up to something! You can do this Ruby, you can survive! …but what could she possibly be planning?!_

 _I know Pyrrha, and it can't be anything too bad! But if it isn't obvious, then it has to be reaaaally evil!_ That was always the case with Yang; the later in the day that the prank happened the worse it was. That was a small reason why Ruby was _always_ glad when she woke up to the prank; it meant the worst part of the day was already over!

Unlike now. Playing the waiting game was starting to get on Ruby's nerves, she could feel herself getting jittery just thinking about what horrific prank that even Nora couldn't speak about that Pyrrha had in store for her. It had to be really, unequivocally, diabolically evil!

Lunch passed uneventfully. So did the rest of classes. Ruby was practically twitching as she looked everywhere for something that'd pop out and scare her or just something! Even Blake had finally hit one of Yang's pranks… how the blonde had gotten Zwei into their room, Ruby had no clue as the two redheads walked back to the dorms together.

"I have a confession to make." Pyrrha finally spoke up as the sun dipped below the horizon, her giggles no longer hidden. "I… may have pranked you today."

Silver eyes widened, she already did it? How did I miss it?! Everything has been normal! "What did, uh, you do?"

"I changed your alarm to one minute sooner." Pyrrha let out a deep sigh of relief. "I hope that didn't go over the line too much?"

"…what?" The gears turning in Ruby's head hit a snag. "T-that's it?"

"Yes." Red hair swayed as Pyrrha gave a quick nod. "Hopefully that wasn't to audacio-

"That's it?!" Ruby screeched, causing her girlfriend to leap a full foot off the ground in surprise. "Nothing crazy like dying everything pink or messing with Crescent Rose?!"

Pyrrha shook her head hesitantly. "N-no Ruby, was I supposed to?"

Ruby took a deep breath and slowly let it out. I was fretting over nothing the whole day? "I-I just thought it'd be really devious or something."

"Like what?" The confused head tilt from her better half prompted Ruby to elaborate, as curious emerald eyes stared at her.

"Nora said that you did a really unspeakable thing last year… and Jaune and Ren didn't even remember it, so I kinda guessed it was a really crazy one…"

"Oh!" Pyrrha sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. "I don't think they even noticed their alarms going off early… Nora sort of did. She likes her sleep. A _lot_." The thousand-yard stare entered Pyrrha's eyes.

"Well, that's not so bad then! At least it's not like Yang's pranks!" Ruby didn't even try and suppress a shudder. "I can't image…what… she is…" The teen trailed off as a horrified look went across her face. "Yang hasn't pranked me yet!"

"Isn't that a good thing?" The tall redhead asked. "Unless you want to be pranked…?"

"It's a bad thing! A very very bad thing!" Ruby shook her head as they finally got to Ruby's dorm. "Yang's pranks ge-"

There was a pile of cookies sitting on a desk.

Something had to be off. One thing was abundantly clear to Ruby, however, she could not eat those cookies. They _had_ to be tampered with!

This was the most insidious of all of Yang's pranks yet!

* * *

AU: Happy April Fools day!

Stress from work and stuff may have gotten to me, so this quality really IS lesser the normal. I swear.

So guess what! Dilation chapter will be later today (I hope) and Acceptance after that (if ASouthernRussian doesn't die while he edits :D )

Thank you for reading and have a great day!


	30. Chapter 30

"Does your armour ever get uncomfortable?"

It was a question that'd been on Ruby's mind for a long time; _even with her gloves, doesn't her bracer get uncomfortable? Or her cuisses?_

Crimson hair swayed as Pyrrha turned to her. "Not particularly. To me, they are quite comfortable, in fact." Pyrrha tapped her chin in thought. "Then again, I've been wearing them since I attended Sanctum, so that may be natural for me." Emerald eyes stared curiously at Ruby. "Would you like to try them on?"

"I don't think they'd fit…" Ruby was a smart cookie, she could easily do the math that someone who was at least a half foot shorter, _if not_ closer to a foot, would not exactly fit in the taller one's clothes. "You're sorta a lot bigger than me, Pyrrha."

In response, the tall redhead's mouth quirked into a smile, a smile that Ruby was sure could sell dirt to dirt farmers. "I'm sure we could make it work."

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try…"

* * *

If Pyrrha was being completely truthful, she was more than a little curious to see what her girlfriend would look like in her outfit. Which was why she was contently waiting as Ruby changed into Pyrrha's usual combat garb.

While it was true that Ruby had grown since their first year, she had by no level quite reached Pyrrha's size. So that's why Pyrrha had a plan. It was a relatively simple one, which utilized something she hadn't had to use in a while, not since she stopped growing, in fact.

At the present, Ruby was almost done putting it on – even though it was apparent from where Pyrrha was that her clothes were far too larger for her girlfriend.

"I don't think it'll fit." Ruby finally let out a large sigh as she plopped down on a nearby bed. "It's way too big

"About that, let me try something." Pyrrha took a few paces over to Ruby before raising out a hand, the tell-tale glow of her semblance emanating out from her finger tips.

The faint glow covered the armour before tightening it – after all, most of what Pyrrha wore was metal armour. "Does it fit a bit better now?" While she couldn't make it fit perfectly, at the very least, it wasn't falling off Ruby anymore.

"Huh." That was Ruby's only response as she shakily stood up, the sash touching the floor. "This is… different." Silver eyes stared up at Pyrrha. "So this is what it's like?"

However, the words Pyrrha's girlfriend were saying to her were mostly going in one ear, and out the other, as the tall teen found herself feeling rather drawn to Ruby. On a certain level, Pyrrha knew that her outfit was a tad more, _alluring_ , then what most huntresses wore, and now that she saw Ruby in it, she could definitely agree.

 _Is it weird that I want to make out with her while she is wearing my clothes?_ Pyrrha hoped not, as she decided to keep her mouth tactfully closed. _I wonder if that sock-on-the-door thing that Yang said really wor-_ "Remnant to Pyrrha, hello?"

"Oh!" Pyrrha jolted as she realized that Ruby's lips were a scant few inches from her own. "Yes?"

"Wanna try my outfit on?"

* * *

 _This really isn't so uncomfortable._

Ruby had expected sharp bits of metal to be painfully poking her, or that the whole thing would be far too tight. Instead, it was more than a little bearable. Well, except for the heels.

No matter how much Pyrrha tried to teach her how to walk in them, nine out of ten times it ended with Ruby face planting into something. If she was lucky, Pyrrha would catch her… if not, then Ruby counted herself lucky for having aura.

While it wasn't particularly uncomfortable, Ruby did feel a bit… odd. Perhaps it was from wearing clothing with actual weight to it, or maybe it was due to the fact that she was wearing something more revealing than she'd thought it'd be. It wasn't making her feel uncomfortable, but it certainly wasn't something that she was fully comfortable with – though considering that Ruby was just with Pyrrha, it was okay.

"I don't think this will work." Pyrrha's voice held a waver of uncertainty to it. "I can't quite close up the back." Ruby turned from looking at herself in the mirror towards her girlfriend just in time to feel a deep blush appear.

Ruby's corset and skirt weren't just a tad too small, they were very small; the combat skirt looking positively tiny for what it should be on Pyrrha. Closer to a miniskirt. Then there was the corset.

To put it simply, it really _accentuated_ Pyrrha's figure.

"Ruby?" There was a lithe to Pyrrha's voice, and the knowing smile made it very apparent to Ruby that her girlfriend knew what exactly was going on through her head. Not that Ruby was exactly the most subtle of people to begin with. "Could you help me with this, I'm a little stuck."

"S-sure, just give me a se- eep!" This was not one out of ten times, as Ruby went sprawling forwards, having entirely forgotten that she was wearing heels. Luckily, Pyrrha was there to catch her, albeit awkwardly, as the redhead ended up stumbling backwards onto a bed from the catch.

"S-sorry!" Ruby squeaked out, as she tried to get her bearings. "Stupid lady-stilts alw- mmpph!"

* * *

Yang had been through a lot of things in her time.

Countless Grimm hordes, being caught trying to prank Glynda Goodwitch, getting yelled at by Weiss for sleeping through an exam – _it only happened once!_ – to name a few.

But walking in on your little sister making out with her girlfriend while in some manner of undress, and in each other's clothing like some kind of roleplay that had gone horribly, horribly wrong… that was something that Yang wished she could unsee.

"I TOLD YOU TWO TO PUT A SOCK ON THE DOOR!" Yang all but screamed as she backpedaled out of the room, while hearing the two redheads make a very undignified noise as they separated, before slamming the door close, and jamming a sock on the knob to save some other poor soul.

"I swear this better not be some kind of revenge for those cookies," Yang mumbled, "Ruby's usually a good sport about pranks…"

Xxx

AU: This was a ridiculous chapter.

Seriously, pretty ridiculous. Blame Super Saiyan Cyndaquil for the prompt of "Ruby trying on Pyrrha's clothes". Also, yeah, Pyrrha would never fit in Ruby's but SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEFFFFFFFFFF

Plus giving Yang a near heart-attack was kind of fun, not gonna lie.

In other news, I am in the process of rewriting the most recent chapter of Acceptance, chapter 20. I just could have done a lot better. So If I end up pushing back the release date of chapter 21, that's why. Sorry! D:

I'll try for a Dilation chapter tomorrow, if time permits it!

Thank you for reading, I hope you all have a great day! :D


	31. Chapter 31

Hey all! So I didn't have time to do a single, thousand word chapter of Pyrrha/Ruby fluff this weekend… so instead, I have two prompts that I answered on tumblr instead! So have two short scenes instead! I should do a normal length chapter next weekend, however! :D

The prompts were "I could give you a massage" and "Come over here and make me."

* * *

"Do you… we… I mean… I could give you a massage?"

"Th-that sounds grand!"

Ruby could tell that Pyrrha was stressed.

It was easy when one knew what to look for, the haggard eyes, the forced smile, the dark lines under the eyes, the unnatural stiffness to her movements.

There was no way that Ruby could take away her girlfriend's stressors; the younger teen couldn't do her homework, or help Jaune spar (at least in a constructive manner), but that wasn't going to stop her!

Which was why she had a plan, one that she could only offer as the tall redhead's girlfriend.

A massage.

True, she was more than a little nervous about doing it, considering that Ruby had never given one before, but she was willing to try!

…plus the look of delight twinkling in those emerald eyes made Ruby all the more determined to do the best job she could at relaxing her stressed better half. _I'm not going to let her down!_

The moment her hands started to move against Pyrrha's back, Ruby knew she had made the right decision as the tall teen all but purred under her touch; the tension leaving her tensed muscles.

Within a minute, Pyrrha looked more relaxed then Ruby had seen her in weeks. The plan had worked!

What was not part of the plan was when Ruby finally let up, and emerald eyes stared deep into silver ones with the promise of 'returning the favour'.

No plan survives contact, and Ruby was quite certain she was glad that her plan wasn't surviving contact as the tables reversed on her.

* * *

"Come over here and make me."

Defiant, but teasing silver eyes stared up at Pyrrha, as Ruby's arms crossed.

"I'll bake you cookies?" Pyrrha decided to start strong - already she could see the cracks forming, as Ruby licked her lips, contemplating that perhaps, just perhaps, it'd be okay to cave.

"Hmmm…. nope~!" Ruby had fallen one too many times to that particular ploy… not that it exactly was a ploy; Pyrrha would indeed make her cookies, the redhead always kept to her word.

Pyrrha's face scrunched up for a moment before the proverbial light-bulb turned on. "Well… no one will be in the dorm for the rest of the night…"

The new angle of attack had immediate results, as Ruby's face turned into a bright scarlet shade. "R-really?" Hook, line and sinker.

"Really." Pyrrha gave a rather _devious_ smile. "Just the two of us." The elder of the two could tell she had won as Ruby gave a futile nod. _I'm not called the Invincible Girl for nothing!_

"Buuuut!" Ruby raised a singular finger. "I'll do it, only if we could, uh, have some, um… alone… before…"

Pyrrha's smile widened as she leaned down to kiss the stammering redhead in her lap.

It always started to light at first; just a few quick pecks. By the third time their lips touched, Pyrrha could feel her girlfriend's hand started to thread through her long hair, pulling her closer and closer, deepening their quick kisses into lingering ones.

Barely a minute had passed - not that Pyrrha could tell as time started to hold less and less sway over her - when Ruby when started to push her back. Back so far that no longer was Ruby sitting in her lap, but straddling Pyrrha as she laid on her back. That was when it got far more interesting.

The next kiss wasn't on the lips, no, it was a soft press against her neck, one that made Pyrrha squirm as she barely kept from letting out a moan. The second one broke any qualms about keeping it quiet, as the redhead let out a very happy noise under her girlfriend's ministration.

Those very happy noises stop quite abruptly when Ruby pulled away, emerald eyes opening to find out what the problem was. "Okay, I guess it's time fo- eep!"

Pyrrha knew that Ruby was nowhere near devious enough to try and get out of what she promised; that she wasn't trying to leave the tall redhead wanting more… but it had that effect.

That was why, when she flipped them over, so that she loomed over her precious rose, Pyrrha didn't feel guilty.

"I think the homework can wait for a bit longer…"

* * *

AU: This feels weird since I wrote these many weeks ago, but hey, at least it's easier for me, right?

I do have a serious question for you guys and gals, however; what would you like to read in Spoon Equality? I usually end up just writing mindless fluff for the most part, with borderline 'they are going to go and frickfrack' as well as Ruby's quest to be the big spoon… but I'm always willing to try something new. Or at the very least, some fresh fluffy concepts.

I have a few, somewhat long term plans for the story that I've been just sort of putting off more or less because I've been trying to figure out how to make them work. That's not to say they are serious grimmdark ideas, just Ruby's quest to be the big spoon is all.

I guess what I'm asking, is if anyone has any particular requests for me to do in the future? I'm planning on doing something for major holidays as you can probably tell, but outside of that, anyone got anything?

Wow, sorry if I'm rambling, just sleepy right now D:

Anywho, thank you all for reading, and I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	32. Chapter 32

Ruby woke up to the distinct pressure of her lungs being crushed.

 _Okay maybe not crushing, but it's really hard to breathe!_

A pair of arms were tightly wrapped around her, hugging her against her tall girlfriend. It was something that happened a lot, especially when Ruby was the little spoon. In fact, Ruby had come to expect this from her girlfriend. After all, Pyrrha did quite immensely like being the big spoon when they slept.

What wasn't normal was how tightly the redhead was squeezing her, nor the fact that she was trembling. Not even what Pyrrha was mumbling into Ruby's hair, the taller girl's face pressed into it, "Don't leave… Ruby…"

That gave Ruby all the reasons she needed to justify waking up Pyrrha, _plus I need to breathe!_ "Pyrrha, wake up." Ruby jostled around in the embrace, trying to quietly wake up the older girl and not wake up the others in team JNPR's room. "Pyrrha, wake uuuup!"

 **Crack!**

In her attempt to wake up her girlfriend, Ruby's elbow knocked onto Pyrrha's face, crimson liquid leaking from her nose after a few moments. On the bright side, Pyrrha was now indeed awake as she stared around at her surroundings in a daze.

"Are you okay?! I-I-I didn't mean to hit you, I'm really _really_ sorry!" Ruby was frantic as Pyrrha finally let go of her, unfocused eyes staring around the room before finally settling on her.

Pyrrha tentatively touched the blood flowing to her lip, her nose glowing for a moment, marking the tell-tale signs of aura being used. "I'm fine now, I think." The tall girl gave Ruby a quizzical, worried look. "Wh-what happened?"

"Uhhh… I was kinda trying to wake you up, and I really REALLY didn't mean to hurt you, I'm re-"

"I'm okay, Ruby." Even in the dim lighting of the room, Ruby could see Pyrrha give a weak smile. Yet it seemed off, like Pyrrha was really forcing it. "No harm done, see?" The smile faded into a frown. "Was something wrong? I wasn't holding you too tight, was I?"

"Sorta-kinda, but that's not why I was waking you up!" Ruby shook her head. "You were shaking an-"

"I'm sorry!" The reaction was immediate, Pyrrha looking mortified as she quickly cut off Ruby. "Y-you can be the big spoon tonight." Before promptly turning around, facing the wall.

Ruby's brow furrowed. _Pyrrha never acts like that._ It felt like she had just gotten a very cold shoulder. Pyrrha never gave anyone a cold shoulder, Ruby had learned that a long time ago. no matter whoever they are, Pyrrha never closed up like that.

 _Did I do something wrong? I haven't missed any important dates n'stuff…_ In fact, Ruby had been on top of her game in that regard. _So what's spooking Pyrrha?_

As minutes passed, Ruby decided she might as well ask instead of worrying about it all night. "Pyrrha, are you still awake?" A small nod from the tall teen was the only response. "Um, did I do something wrong? I'm really _really_ sorry if I did-"

"No, no, no, it's not you!" Pyrrha turned around in an instant to reassure… only for the opposite to occur when Ruby saw the tears welled up in her emerald eyes. "It's…" The tall redhead's voice trailed off as she saw the worry etched into Ruby's face. "…It was just a nightmare…" Her voice sounding child-like.

"You usually don't get them, Pyrrha." In fact, her girlfriend was probably the soundest sleeper Ruby knew, outside of, perhaps, Yang. "D-do you want to talk about it?"

Pyrrha gave a sad little sigh. "Not particularly, but if I don't, it's going to make you worry even more, isn't it?"

"Sorry, but, um, it was enough to make you, um," Ruby gestured to the drying tears, "I'm kinda worried is all."

"I would be too if our situations were reversed." Pyrrha moved from laying on her side to laying on her back, one hand laying palm up on her forehead. "It was… just a stupid nightmare. They happen."

"You were shaking and trembling and mumbling my name…" Ruby was not going to let her girlfriend play it off as a normal occurrence. "I know you don't want me to worry, but it's kinda too late for that, so spill it." Adding a soft jab at Pyrrha's bare midriff.

Pyrrha stared up at the ceiling under Ruby's silver eyed gaze. "…Have you ever had it where you can't find anyone in a dream? Like there is no one. Not just no one, but it's just empty, like a white canvas with no colours."

"No, I haven't… was that what your nightmare was?" Ruby asked softly after a minute or two.

"Something akin to it, yes. I couldn't find Ren or Nora or Jaune or…" The emerald eyes locking onto Ruby's own silver ones made it abundantly clear who Pyrrha was talking about.

Ruby softly went from leaning over her girlfriend to laying on her chest, arms gently wrapped around her. "I'm right here, Pyrrha. I promise I'm not going anywhere."

A quick kiss from Pyrrha followed by strong, muscled arms pulling Ruby tight against her girlfriend was the immediate answer. "I know. You're right here. It was just a stupid nightmare."

Ruby felt Pyrrha give out another soft sigh. "I'm really sorry for waking you up and worr-"

"It's okay, Pyrrha. You're always there for me when I have one." Ruby pushed herself up until she was nose to nose with Pyrrha. "I did mean it, I promise I'm not going anywhere!"

A genuine smile tugged at Pyrrha's lips. "I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

AU: Hey look, a nightmare chapter where Ruby isn't the one with the nightmares!

Not gonna lie, I sort of phoned this one in. I had a mostly completed chapter sitting in my Spoon Equality folder that I basically just had to do the last 400 words of.

I know why it was sitting in my folder too – basically somewhere someone mentioned that in Ruby-ships, there is always a nightmare chapter where it's the other half of the ship comforting Ruby and never the other way around. Which is why I started to write this. However, at the time, I had done a Ruby nightmare chapter only a few weeks prior and I wanted to make it so the two chapters didn't seem so close together, hence why I waited on it. (The last time it said it was edited was in mid-January)

So the quality from writing nearly a quarter of a year later may be all over the place, which is why I had Martuna Major do some edits. A quick thanks to him! :P

BUT I DIGRESS

Last time, I asked what people wanted to see more of in this story. I got roughly three main answers;

1\. More of the same fluff  
2\. Pyrrha/Ruby interacting with other ships/characters  
3\. Pyrrha/Ruby doing some far more intimate stuff and/or smut.

I'm not going into the land of smuts, but I will make an effort to do more intimate stuff outside of kissing… which I do a lot, I know. As for other ships interacting… well, I'd like to not do other ships, else I'd start to have to develop them and I'd get really off topic. I just know how I work. But I can do other characters! Any particular preference for other characters to interact with Pyrrha/Ruby?

Chapter 65 of Dilation should be out tomorrow, I'm nearly done with it at current! If not, early in the week!

Thank you for reading and I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	33. Chapter 33

"Did you have a good birthday?"

Pyrrha smiled as she lazily gazed down at her girlfriend – albeit with some difficulty considering that Ruby was tightly wrapped around her.

"I had a grand time Ruby!" Pyrrha was positively beaming, her infectious smile spreading to Ruby. "Thank you so much!"

Ruby let out a long sigh of relief, much to Pyrrha's amusement. "Was it stressing you out?" Her smile reverted slightly into a small frown. "I hope it wasn't too inconvenient for you-"

"No, no, no!" Ruby shook her head so fast, Pyrrha could have sworn that rose petals were flying off. "I just wanted to make sure you had a good birthday! Y'know, since it's the first we're, um, together for…" Her voice quietly trailed off.

Pyrrha gently kissed Ruby's forehead – the only place she could actually reach, "I had a wonderful time." As she watched the growing smile light up Ruby's face, she couldn't help but add, "Although, I really didn't expect it to be a surprise party… I guess that's what makes it a surprise, I suppose?"

The tall redhead chuckled lightly as Ruby playfully stuck her tongue out at her, "well, duh! It's a _surprise_ party for a reason! I didn't expect you to be so startled when everyone jumped out of their hiding spots…"

Pyrrha's laughter turned a bit more awkward as she flushed at the memory. _It's not every day that you open your dorm room door and literally all of your friends jump up and shout surprise!_ She couldn't help but internally cringe at the rather graceless reaction she had to it. _I'm just glad I left Milo and Akoúo in the locker room…_

"That's the first time I've ever had a surprise birthday party, in all fairness." Pyrrha admitted after a moment.

"Whaaaat?!" Ruby's clinging form suddenly shifted away from Pyrrha as silver eyes looked down at her in shock. "How've you never had one before?!"

Pyrrha gave a small shrug. "It's never come up before." Her brow creased. "Is it common?"

Ruby nodded. "Yeah! Yang and Dad and even Uncle Qrow always throw me one for my birthday! Or for Yang's!" A slender finger tapped at Ruby's chin for a few moments. "Although, I suppose they aren't exactly surprises if you know they are going to happen every year?"

"I suppose not, Ruby." Pyrrha's smile returned. "But the sentiment is what counts, I believe… does that mean you want a surprise party for your birthday as well?" Thoughtful emerald eyes stared up at silver ones.

"If you want to!" Ruby stated after considering it for a few moments. "I'm happy with whatever as long as you, and Yang, and Weiss, and Blake, and Jaune, and Ren and Nora are all there!" Pyrrha chuckled lightly as the long list of people. "And maybe some of our other friends?"

"So a planned party is what you want?" Pyrrha asked after a moment.

"Yup!" Silver eyes were already shining with excitement before fading almost immediately, "but, um, that's still a ways off and it's still your birthday today, so let's focus on that!"

"Only for a few more hours." The inky blackness of the night had replaced the daylight a while ago. "Then it'll be back to the grindstone."

"Yeah…" Ruby's shoulder slumped at the thought of more school work before perking up. "Oh! Did you like the cake?"

"Mhmm!" Pyrrha gave an immediate nod. "It was really good! Where did you buy it from?"

Even in the semi-darkness, Pyrrha could see Ruby's cheeks light up in a blush. "I-I actually made it…" Pyrrha's lips formed a large O in surprise. "And I-"

The sound of Ruby's scroll going off cut her sentence short. "Um, be right back."

Without the presence of her energetic girlfriend by her side, Pyrrha's tired mind started to slowly drift off to sleep, her eyelids drooping. After all, it had been a long, but fun, day.

"I'm back!" Yet the usual weight accompanying Ruby flopping back onto it with all the grace of a dying whale didn't happen. The mattress creaked from weight on the bed shifted slowly, prompting Pyrrha's tired emerald eyes to crack open slightly.

Ruby was indeed in bed again, this time, a different glint in her eyes then before… one that Pyrrha couldn't quite place a finger on. "So I never did give you your gift yet, r-right?" Pyrrha's hazy mind remembered Ruby mentioning she'd get her gift later. "Well, it turns out, that we're going to have the dorm to ourselves tonight…"

Pyrrha's semi-conscious brain took a few moments to piece together the significance of what her girlfriend had just said. Only when the oversized shirt that Ruby had borrowed from her as pajamas started to slowly slip off her girlfriend's form did everything start to make sense.

"Oh." A growing blush spread across Pyrrha's face as understanding dawned on her as Ruby's smile gained a predatory tint to it – one that was mirrored in her silver eyes.

"Oh."

* * *

AU: And then they played tick-tac-toe for four hours ;D

Hey look, a birthday chapter! …totally doing it because it's my birthday today and at least I'm going to write my OTP during my birthday, I don't have much else to do today anyways.

Pro-tip: never go "I'll take off the weekend for my birthday and figure out what I'm going to do as I go along that day!" because then you'll end up writing fanfiction, creating characters for pathfinder and watching anime for your birthday.

On a more serious note, I don't know when I'll get _Dilation_ 's next chapter out; I might be busy for all of tomorrow! Next time I'll post a _Spoon Equality_ chapter will either be next Friday or next Saturday alongside _Acceptance_ and _Dilation_!

Thank you all for reading, and have a wonderful day!

Oh! Have a short omake!

* * *

Omake:

Yang had a good idea what was going to happen when Pyrrha and Ruby had a dorm to themselves for the night. Ruby wasn't a kid anymore, after all. Yang had come to accept that long ago.

That still didn't make it any better when you return to your room and there was rose petals the smelled of something Yang did NOT want to associate with her little sister LITERALLY EVERYWHERE!


	34. Chapter 34

"Hey mom."

Pyrrha's heart sank a little as she watched Ruby kneel next to the tomb stone. "Sorry I haven't been around a lot, school's been kinda busy…"

This wasn't the first time that Pyrrha had seen the grave marker; when the two had started dating Ruby had taken her to meet her parents, both of them. At first Pyrrha had wondered where Ruby's mom was after meeting Taiyang… it wasn't until her girlfriend had led her to a small clearing that the tall redhead fully realized why Ruby rarely mentioned her mom.

 _I don't think Ruby was trying to hide it from me_. Pyrrha could never see Ruby doing something like that, yet it'd still come as a shock to find out that her mom was amongst the deceased. It had made Pyrrha infinitely more thankful that her own mother was still alive.

As Ruby went on, talking about daily life at school and what she'd been up to, to the cold tombstone, Pyrrha's urge to close the distance and tightly hug her girlfriend grew. _It's not fair, why does it have to be Ruby's mother?_

Perhaps it had been even more unfair to either of the blondes standing beside her. Yang had lost the mother who'd actually raised her while Taiyang lost the second love of his life. Yet both were keeping a respectful distance away from Ruby, letting her have her own time to talk with Summer Rose.

When Ruby and Yang had invited Pyrrha to come along with them to Patch for the weekend, it'd only taken a moment to figure out what the occasion was for. While Pyrrha was honoured that she was being included, that Ruby, Yang and even Taiyang thought of her as family, it didn't lessen the fact that she felt really out of place in the small clearing.

 _Everyone here has a connection to her; Summer was Taiyang's wife and teammate, she was Yang's stepmother and Ruby's mom… yet I never met her._

It was weird to think that this person was someone that Pyrrha was never going to meet yet at the same time was immensely thankful for. Summer Rose had raised Yang and Ruby; without her presence, Pyrrha's life would never have become as happy as it was now. Nor would Pyrrha have found love in her precious rose, Ruby, if Summer's tales of being huntress had never been told to the young red head.

They all had been directly affected by Summer, while Pyrrha was only indirectly affected by her. Sure, she'd heard about Summer from Ruby or Yang, but Pyrrha was never going to meet her. She'd never be able to thank her for what she'd done.

Every time Pyrrha had visited Patch in the years since she'd started to date Ruby, the question of how to handle these moments arose. _Do I just respectfully wait over here, or do I talk to the grave?_ The safe bet was staying where she was, but the problem that arose was Pyrrha _did_ want to say something: say how glad she was for what Summer had done.

"Oh! I never introduced you to Pyrrha did I?" Ruby jogged over to Pyrrha and grabbed the tall red head by the hand, gently leading her to the tomb. "Pyrrha this is mom, mom this is Pyrrha."

While Pyrrha had seen the tomb before, she'd technically never gone closer than the tree line, never been this close when Ruby talked to Summer. "Um, hello!" Pyrrha gave an awkward wave with her unoccupied hand, earning a smile from Ruby and a slight squeeze from her clasped hand.

"She's, um, she's my girlfriend." A blush spread across Ruby's cheeks as if she admitting it for the first time. "She's really cool and beautiful and is tons of fun to be with."

Pyrrha found her eyes start to water as Ruby went on, describing how happy she was with her before her sentences slowly came to a crawl.

"You would have liked her a lot."

With that, Ruby let go of Pyrrha's hand and almost reluctantly turned away from the grave marker and headed back towards where her sister and father was.

Pyrrha glanced at them before her emerald eyes were drawn back to the inscription. "I-I may not have ever had the pleasure of meeting you, but you've made my life so much better." Pyrrha quietly murmured, afraid of being overheard, "Without you I would never have met Ruby or Yang; I wouldn't have the most wonderful girlfriend in the whole world." A pair of tears slowly dripped down Pyrrha's cheeks. "I don't know if you would have even of approved of me… but, thank you."

Glancing once more at the inscription, Pyrrha turned around only to be greeted with the sight of Taiyang, a sad, sad smile pulling at his lips as he walked by, patting her on the shoulder. "Summer would have thought you'd make an amazing girlfriend for Ruby… now go make sure my daughters don't destroy something for a minute or two."

An equally sad smile graced Pyrrha's lips as she walked over to where Yang had Ruby in a giant hug before joining them in making it a group hug.

* * *

AU: Happy early mother's day!

Bit of a departure from the usual fluff that I have most days here, but eh, it's always good to change it up every s often… something I'll try and do more and more as time goes on!

OKAY SO, FIRST THING, RWBY chibi is adorable.

SECOND THING; THIS IS THE DAY OF UPDATES! :D

I'm writing Dilation right now and that will post in a few hours followed by Acceptance an hour or so after that. ON TOP OF THAT, for those who read Acceptance, chapter 20 has had a complete rewrite that is already live and you should read it before chapter 21 posts… I changed pretty much everything to the point where Velvet isn't even in it.

Thank you all for reading and hopefully I will see some of you when Dilation updates shortly! :D


	35. Chapter 35

"As the assigned leader, I have a very important, dare I say, integral question for our mission's success."

Turquoise eyes stared at the assembled members of the team; attentive emerald eyes stared back, silver orbs were filled with energetic curiosity and icy blue eyes were emanating almost palpable annoyance.

"Does anyone know how to make pancakes?" Nora asked after a moment, a small frown tugged at her lips. "Ren isn't here and I don't know how…"

"Really?" Weiss let out a long sigh. "How are pancakes going to help complete the mission – which mind you, is clearing out Grimm from this forest?"

Nora gasped dramatically, "HOW COULD THEY NOT?!" Betrayal was clear in her light blue eyes as she pointed an accusing finger at Weiss. "Without pancakes, how could you hope to have a good breakfast!?"

"Um, I know how to make pancakes…" All eyes turned to Ruby as she shifted in her seat, slightly uncomfortable at being the focus of everyone's attention. "Yang taught me how to, so I could make them?"

"I would love to help you, if that's alright?" Pyrrha offered a few moments later, earning a grin and a nod from her girlfriend.

"Great! See, Pyrrha and Ruby agree with me… unless…" Nora's eyes widened in abject horror, almost cowering away from the white-haired teen. "You don't like p-pancakes?!"

Pyrrha could have sworn she saw hurt cross Weiss' face for a moment as Nora's voice was full of genuine fear. Whatever Pyrrha saw was soon gone, as Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose. "…I don't hate them, I just don't see the point of making them during a mission."

"Ooooh!" Nora's mood flipped like a switch as understanding dawned. "Well you see…" Pyrrha was pulled away from the explanation by Ruby tugging her towards the food supplies in the tent. Pyrrha shrugged, letting her girlfriend lead her away from the bickering duo.

* * *

"We're almost done!"

Ruby dutifully watched the batter cook on the frying pan, a spatula on hand to flip them.

"That… was easier than I expected." Pyrrha admitted after a moment, as she watched Ruby flip one. "Is this really all there is to it?"

"Yup~!" Her small girlfriend almost sang with a smile. "It's actually kinda simple… it's why Yang taught me so I didn't burn down the house when I wanted chocolate chip pancakes!"

A singular eyebrow rose. "Wait, was that an actual concern?" _I know Ruby likes cookies and chocolate, but it's a bit of a stretch to go that far._ Emerald eyes glanced with uncertainty towards the small stove.

The uncertainty was clearly picked up as the smile scrunched up into a frown. "I never did! I'm more careful than that. I promise."

Pyrrha took a step forward, before wrapping her arms around Ruby, and kissing the top of her head, making the smaller teen jump at the contact. "I trust." Pyrrha's tone was gentle as she said it barely above a whisper. "I just worry sometimes."

Ruby flipped a pancake before arching her head back to give Pyrrha a quick kiss on the lips. "I know what I'm doing, seriously." Turning back towards the frying pan, Pyrrha could feel Ruby lean against her, the red-tinged hair nestled against her tank top-clad chest.

Pulling Ruby against her snugly, Pyrrha hummed something akin to happy contentment as the two stood in comfortable silence – sans the sizzling coming from the frying pan. A silence that was broken by a murmur from Pyrrha. "I'm glad we got to go on a mission together."

Her girlfriend nodded, "Maybe we can do this more often in the future?" Wide, hopeful silver eyes stared up at Pyrrha.

Pyrrha answered with a quick kiss before a verbal reply, "I hope so, too." It was a sentiment that the tall redhead agreed with, after all. There was something uniquely comforting about being with the one you loved, despite being on an active hunt.

Most missions were done by a single teams, such as RWBY or JNPR. Rarely did they get the chance to separate and mix with another team. The idea that a huntress had to be flexible and know how to work with people she didn't usually do missions with was the specified reason for the change.

While that was good and all, Pyrrha was really quite happy to finally go on a mission where the only time she saw her rose wasn't through a scroll screen for a few scant minutes before sleep. This time she got to see Ruby the entire time, got to keep her warm in their tent at night. Or was able to protect her precious smaller half from danger instead of being hundreds of miles away, praying for the best.

"Hey Pyrrha, do you think we have enough pancakes?" Ruby gestured to a small mountain on a large platter, pulling Pyrrha out of her happy musings. "I know Nora likes 'em by the ton, but if we keep making the, then they are gonna start to get cold…"

"At the very least, by the time she wants more, it'll be time for us to head out for the day." Pyrrha knew Nora's pancake consumption habits well – they were on a team together for several years, after all. Reluctantly, Pyrrha let go of Ruby.

…or would have, had Ruby not twisted around, locking her arms around Pyrrha's neck to pull her down for a quick, but intense kiss. When they parted, Pyrrha felt her head go a bit dizzy from it. _Definitely need to go on missions with Ruby, yup._

Emerald eyes suddenly focused, as she recognized an after taste. "Wait, did you already-" Bending down for a quick kiss, Pyrrha tasted it again. "Did you already eat some of the pancakes?"

Ruby merely shrugged as she offered up her defense for pilfering some of the baked goods.

"Chocolate kisses are the best."

* * *

Nora diligently watched Weiss slowly take a dainty bite from a pancake.

"Soooooo?" Large expectant eyes stared down Weiss from not even a foot away, as Pyrrha had to try her best to keep herself from giggling. Nora isn't the best at keeping out of personal bubbles. "Didya like them?"

Icy blue eyes glanced at Pyrrha and Ruby – who was currently sitting in the taller one's lap – as they looked back, curious to see how their work was going to be received. "…They are good…"

"See, I told you they were good!" Nora stepped back, as Weiss started to take another bite. "Especially since they were made with love!"

"Made with love?" Ruby echoed between mouthfuls as she scarfed down the pancakes.

Nora's head titled at the question. "Yeah, you two were being all lovey-dovey while making it, weren't you?"

Weiss froze, as her eyes slowly drifted onto the increasingly uncomfortable couple. "…say what?" Horrified icy blue eyes drifted over to Nora. "What did you mean by that, precisely?"

Nora gave a small shrug before continuing in a completely normal tone, "They were hugging and kissing while they were making th-"

"ACK!" Weiss spat out the pancakes in her mouth. "I THOUGHT THIS WAS SANITARY, NOT COVERED IN SALIVA FROM YOU TWO MAKING OUT!"

As Weiss proceeded to stalk off to wash out her mouth, Nora turned from the fleeing white haired teen to the embarrassed couple.

"Sooo, have you guys booped yet?"

"…"

"…"

This was going to be a _long_ mission.

* * *

AU: I think this is one of the better chapters I've done for Spoon Equality, in my own humble opinion :P

…hopefully?

People asked for more of Pyrrha and Ruby interacting with others, so here we go! Nora and Weiss time… which I like for _reasons_. Namely that they have the most friction and Pyrrha/Ruby don't have all that much, and it's fun to write.

Would you guys and gals like a second part to this, such as having them on the same mission with Weiss and Nora?

New _Dilation_ chapter on Tuesday, hopefully!

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day!:D


	36. Chapter 36

"You two are dating, right?"

Pyrrha's head tilted as it was clear to everyone there what the answer was. "Yes, we are, Nora."

"Then how come you guys never flirt with each other?" When confused emerald and silver eyes stared at the short, orange haired girl, Nora merely shrugged her shoulders. "Like, you never, ever do anything other than hug or hold hands. You never flirt."

 _We do far more than that_ , Pyrrha's face burned bright red at the thought _, but that stays behind closed doors_ … _wait, is that technically even flirting?_ Honestly, Pyrrha didn't quite know as she turned it over and over in her head.

Neither did Ruby, if the confused look that she was giving Pyrrha was anything to go by. "I… guess we could flirt more?" Pyrrha asked awkwardly. "That's what normal, healthy couples do… I think?"

"I…guess?" Ruby scratched her head. "Should I try… flirting with you more…?" When Pyrrha hesitantly nodded, a small blush spread across Ruby's face as silver eyes stared deeply into emerald ones. "Your hair is so long and red and pretty just like Crescent Rose..."

"And your eyes are gray like my favorite brand of bullets." Never before had Pyrrha had such trouble trying to keep a straight face as she said a single sentence.

"…you're mocking me." Silver eyes narrowed as Pyrrha apologetically threw up her hands in surrender. "Pyrrhaaa, I wasn't joking around."

"I'm sorry! I'm just not used to it, is all?" Pyrrha sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck.

"Soooo, I was right, you two never flirt!" Nora pointed an accusing finger at them. "I knew it!"

"They do far more than flirt." Weiss muttered under her breath. "Clearly, you've never walked in on th-"

"-when we are cuddling." Ruby zoomed over to the white-haired teen so fast, that Pyrrha could have sworn that rose petals were fluttering behind her before she put her hand over Weiss' mouth.

Nora shrugged, accepting it while Pyrrha was grateful for the save; _I really don't want to discuss the time that Weiss walked into Ruby marking me… wait._ Emerald eyes zeroed in on Ruby as Pyrrha stalked towards her with a type of hunger that the smaller teen understood immediately.

…and proceeded to shyly put her hood over her head. The hunger in Pyrrha dimmed as she immediately knew why Ruby was turning it down. _Ruby's really shy around doing stuff like that in public._ Which was probably why Nora was even bringing this question up in the first place. Pyrrha wasn't going to make her rose uncomfortable, instead settling for hugging her tightly.

"I don't see what the problem is." Weiss stated after a moment. "They seem to be quite happy with how things are… right, Ruby? Pyrrha?" Both nodded, albeit it was hard to tell since Ruby was engulfed in Pyrrha's embrace. "Why does it even matter, Nora?"

"Well, I just like seeing them happy, and happy couples flirt, but they don't flirt, so they aren't happy…"

"Hmm… I guess we could try something else?" Pyrrha nodded, prompting Ruby to go on. "Um… uh…" Ruby turned towards Weiss, obviously looking for a lifeline of some kind. "What do people do when they flirt?"

A white eyebrow arched in surprise, Weiss clearly wasn't expecting to be asked for any kind of advice. "I suppose couples have terms of endearment for each other?"

"Hm, I could always call you glykia mou?" Pyrrha offered after a moment.

"Gluck moe?" Ruby's head tilted in confusion, prompting a giggle from Pyrrha.

"No, glykia mou, it means 'my sweet' in Mistralian… although, maybe my rose would be better…" Pyrrha tapped her chin in thought. "I just like calling you by your name the most."

"Ooo, I know!" Nora interjected before shoving her scroll at them. "I looked up a list of nicknames for couples, you could try out some of them?" Emerald and silver eyes met before giving a small shrug, _sure_ , _why not?_

A moment later, both had picked out a name, with more than a little encouragement from Nora. "Okay, go!"

Seeing as how Ruby was visibly nervous, Pyrrha opted to go first. "I love you, my, er, snugglewuggles."

Ruby looked like she was about ready to disappear into her hood as she barely whispered back, "I-I-I love you too, m-my… uh, s-stud muffin…"

Peals of laughter erupted, not from Pyrrha or Ruby – both of who were beet red with embarrassment and trying their best to avoid each other's eyes, the smaller of the two succeeding with her hood. Nor from Nora, who was the only one with a completely straight face, but from Weiss.

It was only after a good half minute, and three pairs of eyes focused on her that Weiss finally started to calm down, coughing into her hand as if nothing had happened. "Well, I think those are perfectly acceptable names."

"Then how come you were laughing?" Ruby asked from underneath her hood. When no answer was forthcoming, she pulled it off to watch Weiss innocently whistle as if nothing had happened before turning towards Pyrrha. "Maybe we should come up with our own nicknames?"

Pyrrha shook her head after a moment. "I like it when you call me by my name, and just that." There was a reason for that – Ruby was someone who accepted Pyrrha for who she was, not as some 'Invincible Girl' or some other moniker. "Pyrrha will be fine for me… would you mind if I called you my rose?" A deep shade of crimson crossed Pyrrha's face as she fidgeted with her sash mirrored by her girlfriend. "Sorry if it sounds a little generic…"

"B-being your rose sounds pretty nice…" Ruby had a huge, dopey smile etched across her face at the suggestion. "I g-guess I wouldn't mind." Ruby closed the distance – a jump to each step, a far cry from the embarrassed girl moments ago - so that when she stood on her tippy-toes their foreheads touched. "C-can I be your rose, then?"

The tall redhead answered with a long, lingering kiss. "Of course you can. You'll always be my rose." Ruby's face was shadowed by the looming teen's tall figure, yet Pyrrha could see the loving look all the same that those silver eyes held for her. "I love you."

"I love you too." Ruby stretched up to kiss her girlfriend again, only to give a disappointed, if slightly playful, frown. "Even if you won't be my stud muffin."

"Do you _really_ want me to be your stud muffin?" Questioning emerald eyes stared down with some incredulity. "I mean, if you really want me t-"

"Hehe, it's okay." Ruby shook her head ever so slightly, "It is sorta ridiculous. I'll be happy as long as you're _my_ Pyrrha."

"I'll always be your Pyrrha." The tall redhead whispered lovingly. "Just as lo-"

"Are you two lazy butts gonna keep flirting or get moving?" Nora called back. "We have a mission to finish still!"

"You were the one that told us t-"

"WE. STILL. NEED. TO. FINISH. TH-"

"We're coming!" Instead of breaking their embrace, Pyrrha scooped up Ruby into her arms and ran towards the white and orange duo that was far ahead of them.

"Seriously, can someone please explain why Nora is the leader for the mission?"

* * *

AU: Part two of the mission!

People wanted more, so here ya go. In hindsight the ramp up to them becoming disgustingly lovey-dovey at the end was really quite fast. Did it turn out bad?

GOOD NEWS EVERYONE! SOMEONE, and by someone, I mean Exkage, commissioned a comic of the previous _Spoon Equality_ chapter! It's already out. Sadly, this website doesn't allow links, but the artist is Lonelybus on tumblr. I'd check it out, it's pretty great! :D

There were references in this chapter to other Pyrrha/Ruby things, namely Xekstrin's dialogue for them flirting (the Crescent Rose and brand of bullets line) as well as to NarfoOnTheNet's own Milk & Cereal short, _Glykia Mou_!

 _Dilation_ should update either Monday or Thursday. It's up in the air at the moment due to how busy real life has gotten.

Thank you for reading and I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	37. Chapter 37

"Hey Pyrrha?"

"Hm?" Pyrrha glanced up from her homework to find Ruby staring at her with concerned silver eyes. "Yes?"

"Are you… alright?" Pyrrha's brow furrowed at the question, a cue that Ruby picked up on. "I know you've been kinda sorta stressed a lot and you look pretty tense and yeah I'll stop talking now…" Ruby finished, awkwardly twiddling her thumbs.

Emerald eyes slowly blinked as Ruby fidgeted. "Sorry." Pyrrha's head dipped down as she sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. "You'd think that after helping Jaune train at night for so long I'd be better with time allocation…" Turning back to the nearly gone pile of school work, Pyrrha let out a small sigh. "Just need to finish a few things and then I'll be ready for our date tonight, I promise!"

That, however, was not good enough for Ruby. Or rather, that wasn't enough of a reassurance that Pyrrha was going to be fine. "Hmm, I have an idea!" Silver eyes lit up as Ruby dashed out of the room, leaving a pile of rose petals. "It'll be fun, I promise!"

A small, happy smile crossed Pyrrha's face. "I'm looking forward to it!"

* * *

Pyrrha liked to think that she had a good memory… then again, her memory could just be playing tricks on her.

 _I'm certain that we agreed on going to Simple Wok_. She knew this for the simple fact, that it was something that Pyrrha had been looking forward to for the entire day – and not just because it was a date with Ruby.

Given the amount of training and muscle mass she had, Pyrrha was a tad guilty of really liking some foods. Lo mein for instance. Hence, Simple Wok. Plus no one recognized her as a celebrity there, which was always a positive. Looking at the reminders on her scroll, it clearly said 'Date at Simple Wok – 5pm'. Yet… Ruby was excitedly leading her towards the opposite direction.

 _So where are we going?_ Pyrrha decided to keep the question unspoken as Ruby led her by the hand past street after street. _I'll guess it'll just be a nice surprise?_

When the duo finally did stop in front of the destination, it was mostly definitely a surprise.

It was the most luxurious spa in Vale.

Emerald eyes slowly turned towards Ruby in shock.

"I, uh, sorta asked Weiss if she knew any places that had a hot spring… that-I-could-afford-and-she-insisted-on-paying-for-it-herself-as-a-gift!" That last bit came out as a mumbled rush. "So… um, yeah…"

"So this is where…" Pyrrha couldn't quite believe it, Ruby's words still sinking in. "No, wait, I thought we were going to go to Simple Wok, not that I'm complaining!" Pyrrha frantically waved her hands in distress for a moment at the social faux pas.

"Hot springs and spas and stuff help people relax… and you deserve that." Ruby hugged Pyrrha from the side, only to be engulfed by the bigger redhead's grateful embrace.

* * *

"This is so weeeeird!"

Ruby hesitantly put her foot in the hot water, a single towel wrapped around her.

Pyrrha looked on, an amused twinkle in her eyes. "Yes, but I've heard that they are quite good." Slowly Pyrrha walked into it, a content sigh involuntary sprung forth as she sank into the warm waters.

Awkwardly shuffling around the large pool, Pyrrha finally found a spot that was just the right height before slowly sitting down. It wasn't long until Ruby joined her, although with some difficulty.

A comfortable spot to sit for Pyrrha, where the water was up to her shoulders meant for the significantly shorter redhead, it was up to her eyes. It took Pyrrha a few minutes to notice this as Ruby kept trying to sit down… and sinking. "Sorry!" Pyrrha started to get up only for a hand to clamp down on her arm.

"Nope~! You relax, and I'll figure this out… and I think I figured it out." A comforting weight plopped down in Pyrrha's lap, as Ruby took her seat. "There, see, all better!"

Pyrrha gave her a smile before pulling Ruby against her in a lazy hug.

She could feel the tension slowly leave her, as she soaked in the hot water. It might have been minutes or hours later when she finally spoke. "We really need to thank Weiss for renting out this pool."

"Hehe, yeah… it would have been kinda weird if there were other people here. It's just me and _you_." Ruby playfully poked Pyrrha's nose on 'you', eliciting a giggle from her. "I know I couldn't relax if there were other people here that were _naked_."

Pyrrha felt another peal of laughter bubble up at how scandalized Ruby sounded at the concept. "They would be wearing a towel, like us. So not completely _naked_."

Ruby stuck out her tongue as a way of responding. "Close enough. So! Are you feeling any better?"

"A lot better, thanks Ruby." Pyrrha hummed with contentment. "I didn't even knew how badly I wanted this." The lazy embrace pulled Ruby up to receive a lingering kiss from her beloved. "I love you."

"I love you too." Ruby pulled back, much to Pyrrha's confusion. "I have another idea too… um… are you still stressed?"

"Perhaps a little?"

"I… uh, could, er… give you a massage?"

Pyrrha found herself nodding, as a dopey smile spread across her lips. "If you're sure?"

"Yup!" Pyrrha wordlessly turned around, before uncovering her back. "Just… tell me if I'm doing okay?"

"Of course!"

Pyrrha didn't have a clue what Ruby was doing, but the moment the shorter girl's hands touched her back, the elder redhead felt great.

 _No, great isn't the right word_ , Pyrrha numbly mused as she let out a very happy sigh, _this feels divine_. "A-am I doing okay?" The hands stopped after a few minutes, clearly seeking some input.

"Uh-huh." Pyrrha didn't trust herself to form words as Ruby started back up again. _How… when did she learn how to do this? Did she always know how to do this?_ If that was the case, Pyrrha was going to definitely inquire for more in the future. Not that she needed to make a mental note of it as she hummed with content.

It was like Ruby's hands were forcing whatever knots of tension were still in Pyrrha's back out. Muscles Pyrrha didn't even realized were tense suddenly felt loose. Adding the hot spring water of the pool, and Pyrrha was currently feeling _amazing_.

Unfortunately for all parties involved, Pyrrha realized she may have just been a _smidge_ too vocal about her contentment, as the doors to the pool flew open and a rather annoyed looking security guard came barreling out.

"There were noises." The burly looking woman simply stated, with crossed arms, her eyes narrowing suspiciously at them. "Explain."

"Uh-h-h, I-I w-was g-g-iving m-my girlfriend a ma-assage?" Ruby squeaked out. As the security guard looked unconvinced, Pyrrha had a single thought bouncing around in her content brain.

 _I need to pay Ruby back for this._

* * *

AU: Woo! Hot springs AND a massage chapter in one go! Going through all the tropes!

Honestly, I had no idea what I was writing and an hour later I have a 1200 word chapter, so that's neat! :D …seriously, I went "I should do a _Spoon Equality_ chapter but I have no idea. Gorsouul said massages, I'm doing that." Poof, an hour later we have this.

In other news, I ALSO finished the first draft of chapter 22 of _Acceptance_ today, so that should post on time either next Friday or Saturday! So that's neato! :D

 _Dilation_ should be on Monday!

Thank you for reading and I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	38. Chapter 38

Ruby glared menacingly at the sky.

 _Please, please don't rain!_ Menace melted into begging. _Last time Pyrrha planned a date to the park it rained, and I don't want to see her sad again, so, pretty please, don't rain!_

"Ruby!" Pyrrha whispered in a hushed voice, pulling back Ruby's attention from the window and to the classroom. Where everyone was currently staring at her, Oobleck impatiently tapping a finger against the desk in front of her.

 _I have literally no idea what the question even is_. Ruby helplessly shrugged as Oobleck sped away when it became abundantly clear that she had no idea what was going on.

Not that Ruby could exactly focus on class right then, anyways. There were equal levels of worry and excitement battling in her mind. Worry for a bad change in the weather and excitement for whatever Pyrrha had planned… for once Ruby had no idea.

The level of bizarreness of that concept was staggering, when one considered the fact that Pyrrha always, ALWAYS, stuck to a schedule or plans. _Not to toot my own horn, but I'm the spontaneous one,_ Ruby thought with perhaps more than a little smug pride. Pyrrha would always tell Ruby well in advance what they were going to do, and when. This time, Pyrrha had asked Ruby while they'd been getting around before breakfast, if she'd be okay with going on a date after classes.

The only vague, vague inkling that Ruby had was it was something to do outside, given that Pyrrha had checked the weather more than a few times since they'd woken up… leading Ruby to think of another date to the park. _After all, it IS the summer, and it's not supposed to rain for a while._

Still, the fact that Pyrrha hadn't said what they'd be doing left Ruby unable to focus on anything as the day progressed – including school work.

 _This is going to be a loooong day._

* * *

The day had gone painfully, tortuously slow for Ruby but classes had finally ended.

 _I finally get to see where Pyrrha is taking me!_ The thought added a bit of skip to Ruby's step as the two redheads walked down the streets of Vale.

It was really hard for Ruby to keep her giddiness contained as they walked further and further, silver eyes darting every five seconds back to Pyrrha, as the tall teen led her by the hand. Better yet, the weather seemed to be holding.

 _I bet it's going to be the park!_ A lazy afternoon spent in the warm sunlight sounded heavenly to Ruby, albeit perhaps slightly disappointing. _It's not like I hyped this up at all, nope! Ooo, we could do cloud watching!_

Yet, much to Ruby's surprise, Pyrrha led her right by the park and kept walking. The possibility of disappointment vanished as Pyrrha led her into a rather large building, one that Ruby knew well. One that Ruby was sure only held horrifying memories for her girlfriend.

Downtown Vale's arcade… the location of the dreaded skee ball machine.

However, Pyrrha didn't seem to notice the colourful myriad of electronic displays, rather she made a beeline for the guy at the counter who merely called another employee to take his spot at the counter before leading the two off through a door.

After being led through a few hallways, a door was unlocked and the man gestured the two through. A rush of fresh air blew through as the duo stepped outside.

It was a go-kart course.

"You mentioned how you and Yang went on go-karts before, and it sounded fun, so I thought you could teach me?" Pyrrha admitted, almost embarrassed. "I may have reserved the whole course…"

A huge smile crossed Ruby's face as she excitedly pulled Pyrrha into a quick kiss before leading her over to a kart.

* * *

Pyrrha, as with most things, was a quick learn it seemed.

After a few practice runs, and one or two of them in a two-person cart as Ruby played the role of instructor, the two of them were having a grand time. Which naturally was when Ruby had an epiphany.

"Hey Pyrrha, wanna race?"

Pyrrha's long red hair swayed as she titled her head. "Haven't we already been racing?"

"No, no, no!" Silver eyes gleamed in delight, "we haven't been _racing_." Pyrrha blinked in confusion. "We've been driving. If we're racing then that means there is a prize. Like who gets to be big spoon tonight."

"That sounds like a grand idea!" Pyrrha nodded immediately, "whoever wins gets to be big spoon tonight, agreed?" Ruby gave an enthusiastic nod as the arcade employee started a countdown.

 _This should be a fair race, both me and Pyrrha have been doing about the same… except I guess I'll have to stop going so easy on her._ Ruby's giddiness at an assured win completely overwrote whatever guilt she may have had towards it. After all, Ruby had been driving go-karts with Yang since she was five years old… of course she'd been going easy on Pyrrha. But the gloves were off now.

With a screech of tires against tarmac, the two were off. Both Ruby and Pyrrha had decided that the best strategy was 'go fast', as the two barreled down the first straight-away. _I'll pass her at the turn!_

Yet, unlike the practice rounds, Pyrrha was starting to turn as they neared the bend. In fact, she hadn't let her foot off the accelerator, as the go-kart kept going as fast as it could. _She's going to hit the wall if she doesn't turn… I'll pass her then._

Ruby started to follow behind Pyrrha, as she cut her speed, waiting for her girlfriend to slam into the barrier…

...only for Pyrrha to swerve with almost unnatural precision into a turn, her speed not letting up, the distance between the two growing further.

 _What the heck?_

At the second and third bends, the same thing happened, Pyrrha gaining a huge lead on Ruby.

Frustration started to mount as it became increasingly clear that Ruby wasn't going to catch up with her girlfriend. _It's not fair! I should have won this easy!_ Despondently, Ruby glanced towards the leading go-kart, silver eyes meeting emerald ones for a moment.

In that moment, Ruby realized several things. For instance, she wasn't racing against, her kind, lovely girlfriend, Pyrrha Nikos. No, she was racing against Pyrrha "Invincible Girl" Nikos. The same Invincible Girl who never lost a tournament match. A ruthless competitiveness had replaced the normal gentle kindness in those emerald eyes.

It was what a rabbit felt before a tiger; a hungry, devouring presence that the poor little rabbit could barely comprehend. Its fate being one that the tiger could do with however it pleased on the slightest of whims.

That, and Pyrrha was clearly using her semblance on the go-kart, keeping it from bumping the sides, the faint black glow of her aura visible.

"…I should have really of seen that coming…"

* * *

AU: You really should have Ruby… Pyrrha does like to win, after all.

The one complaint I have with this chapter is that it felt less shippy and more just funny if anything, yet on the other hand it has been sometime since the two have fought over the rights of being the big spoon, so there is always that!

Today is the three update day! Dilation should be out in two hours and Acceptance will be two hours after that!

Hopefully I'll see some of you for later updates, and for those of you I don't, thank you for reading and have a wonderful day! :D


	39. Chapter 39

Under the warm breeze of early summer, Pyrrha and Ruby wandered into the park.

Well, wandered was a bit of a misnomer, considering that Ruby was leading Pyrrha by the hand, and the smaller redhead had an actual destination in mind.

Pyrrha was happy to let herself be led in a winding, confusing path through the large city park, Ruby stopping every so often before deciding that some condition wasn't quite right and moving on. _I'm just happy I get to spend time with her and the weather is nice._

Finally after a good thirty minutes of wandering, Ruby pointed to a pair of trees before skipping over to it and dropping her backpack. "Perfect!"

Pyrrha quizzically looked on as Ruby pulled a long fabric contraption out of the bag. It was only after a minute or two that Ruby realized the confusion. "Have you never seen a hammock before?" Ruby asked incredulously as she scratched her head.

It took a moment before the proverbial lightbulb lit up in Pyrrha's head. "Oh!" A huge smile lit up on Pyrrha's lips. "That sounds grand!"

"Yup, that's what I thought!" Ruby enthusiastically nodded. "And since the weather is so nice, it seemed like the perfect day!" Ruby picked up one end of the hammock. "Just need to attach it and we'll be good."

A few seconds later, the hammock was hanging from two trees, looking ever inviting… except for one small problem.

There was no way two people were going to fit on a hammock that small.

The hammock only stretched about five and a half feet long. Maybe, just maybe, Pyrrha could curl up on it, but there'd be no way to fit Ruby on it as well.

Pyrrha could already see the gears turning in Ruby's head as she looked over the problem. "I'll, um, run to the store super quick and buy a new one?" Pyrrha gave the briefest of nods before her girlfriend disappeared into a trail of rose petals.

Idly, Pyrrha reached out grabbed one of the slowly drifting petals. It was a bright crimson, and held a faint fragrance that she'd forever associate with Ruby. For some reason, the petals always hung around her for a while. A mere five feet away, the rose petals had already started to fade away, yet the ones around her stuck. _It's like a little bit of Ruby is always with me._

It was tough to put her finger on when that started to happen; Pyrrha remembered before they had started to date that the petals had already stuck around her. The phenomena was something that only happened around her – not Yang, or any of Ruby's teammates or even her father or uncle… just Pyrrha. That little connection made Pyrrha feel infinitely closer to her Rose.

Bending down to pick up a few more, Pyrrha took a look around. The spot where Ruby had set up the hammock was in a secluded section of the park, where a maze of trees cut off the immediate surrounding buildings. In a sense, it was incredibly peaceful.

Eying the hammock, Pyrrha gave a shrug. _I suppose it wouldn't hurt to sit down while I wait?_ The gentle warmth from the sky beckoned her to the hammock, making the choice for her. Tentatively sitting on the fabric, making sure it could hold up her weight, Pyrrha kicked off her heels and gently setting aside Akoúo and Milo beside them before curling up in it.

Taking the fistful of petals, Pyrrha brought them up to her nose, pleasantly basking in the nice weather and the scent of her loved one.

 _Ruby should be back soon…_

Xxx

Ruby was not having the best of days.

First the hammock she had was NOWHERE near big enough for two people – _I really should have checked beforehand._

Secondly, when she'd rushed to the store, Ruby had forgotten that she didn't have enough lien besides the ticket back to campus for the airbus, which meant that she had to make a detour to an ATM. Then the store had been packed and the line to cashier had taken nearly twenty minutes, _TWENTY MINUTES_!

 _I just hope Pyrrha doesn't mind._ In the back of her head, Ruby knew that Pyrrha was completely fine with whatever, but it didn't change the fact that this wasn't a good outcome. _At least the weather is holding, so… that's good?_

So it was with more than a little speed – and the use of her semblance – that Ruby went back to her waiting girlfriend. "Pyrrhaaaaa, I'm back! Sorry for taking so long, the line was so looong and then… then… um, Pyrrha?"

Snoozing peacefully in the shade was Ruby's redhead.

The sight was almost comical considering that the hammock was just the right size for Ruby… who was a good foot or so shorter and had a lot less muscle mass than Pyrrha.

 _She looks so peaceful_. The stress that sometimes etched its way into Pyrrha's face during exams was gone, nor the worry that always found a way into her smile… Ruby's urge to erect the new hammock had dwindled as it meant she'd have to wake up Pyrrha.

A dash of red caught Ruby's eyes, as something drifted out of Pyrrha's hands. Bending down to examine it, it took Ruby a moment to realize what exactly it was; one of her rose petals.

That, however, was enough to make Pyrrha stir, emerald eyes slowly cracking awake. "Hey sleepyhead, did ya have a good nap?~"

"Uh-huh." Pyrrha groggily took in her surroundings before reaching forward and interlocking her fingers with Ruby's. "Did you just get back?"

"Yup! Sorry, it took so lon- eep!"

Ruby found herself being pulled into the hammock, and on top of Pyrrha, their combined weight making the fabric rest an inch above the ground. "Huh, didn't think that was going to work." Pyrrha mumbled as she ran a hand along Ruby's back.

"Wait, so we didn't need a bigger one? Awww…" Ruby quietly grumbled as she made herself cozy in the very small space of the hammock.

Minutes passed as Ruby could only hear the content hum coming from Pyrrha and the chirping of birds.

"This was a lovely idea, Ruby." Mirthful emerald eyes stared at her as Pyrrha lovingly ran a hand through her hair in way that made Ruby feel utterly relaxed. "We should definitely do this again."

A huge grin plastered itself across Ruby's face at the compliment. "As long as it's sunny!" Raising her head a few inches off Pyrrha, Ruby looked around. Despite being in a city park, neither could hear the sounds of anything but nature. It made the date intimate. "Hehe, it's kinda funny, I was worried that there was going to be a lot of people here or something, but it's just us!"

"Just us…" Pyrrha echoed the phrase back as her hands slowly made their way from Ruby's back downward, in a way that made it very clear what she was thinking. A thought that Ruby was very receptive to.

By the time Pyrrha's strong hands had made it to Ruby's waist, she was already moving up, locking in a lingering, needy kiss.

Ruby started trail kisses down Pyrrha's neck, each one giving a little mark, as she made her way past her collarbone an-

 ** _BOOM!_**

One wall of trees surrounding them shattered as a large shadow crashed through them and went careening into the ground a scant two dozen feet away.

It was as if a switch had been flipped as Pyrrha's weapons flew into her hand, her girlfriend's combat reflexes already causing the tall redhead to protect Ruby.

And then the shadow stood up.

"Ah, Miss Nikos, Miss Rose, how good to see you."

"Professor… Port?" Ruby peeked past Pyrrha, the distinctive grey mustache and haircut ever present. "What are you doing… doing…"

While the distinctive mustache and face was instantly recognizable, the rest of him… not so much, much to both Pyrrha and Ruby's horror. "I was merely catching up with some colleagues of mine, with some good old-fashion mud wrestling, unfortunately, I seem to have lost my only remaining piece of battle armo-"

"THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS, THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS!"

"AHHHHHH! MY EYES!"

* * *

AU: Welp, things have been seen that can't be unseen. Why can't any of their dates just go normally… probably because then it'd be things that I'd feel uncomfortable writing?

So I went to my friend Super Saiyan Cyndaquil and went "I need a tropey idea for a Spoon Equality chapter, what do you got?" "Hammocks."

A day later I went "I need someone to walk in on them making out, I'm thinking Winter, though how to get her to do it in the city park is a bit beyond m-" "Port mud wrestling." "Genius."

That is how this chapter came into being.

I hope that the quality wasn't too bad; it's been more than a week since I wrote last; it's been very busy for me in real life as of late, though it's close to dying down some! So yay more writing!

Thank you for reading and I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	40. Chapter 40

"Wow…"

Pyrrha couldn't help but be more than a little star struck at her surroundings as Ruby led her by the hand deeper into the convention hall.

Sure, Pyrrha had seen some anime, and heard stories about what these conventions were like from Ruby, Jaune or even occasionally Yang, but seeing the vast crowds of people dressed up as figures that she occasionally recognized from different series was… overwhelming.

Pyrrha only realized she was gawking when she heard her girlfriend giggling at her. "Sorry, it's just… I didn't think they're was going to be so many people here! …or that so much effort went into their costumes."

"And that's what makes it great! C'mon, let's get you a badge so we can check out dealer's alley!" Pyrrha was pulled into the massive throng of people, only to emerge a few minutes later outside of the crowd and in a long line.

When Ruby had first brought up going to the convention, Pyrrha had been both excited… and nervous. Nervous because whenever Pyrrha was in large crowds of people, she tended to get recognized. One of the downsides of winning tournaments was the fame, as it were. Ruby had not been discouraged in the slightest, rather, it had elicited a huge grin. 'Why don't you just go in a cosplay, then no one can recognize you?'

Which was why Pyrrha was currently dressed in a frilly, red magical girl cosplay, complete with a stick with a foam tip – a far cry from Milo, but then again, it was just a costume. _Still, at least I didn't have to change my hair colour_ , Pyrrha glanced over to Ruby who was currently sporting blue hair and a cape – she'd also made a costume from the same series.

"Ta-da!" Ruby held up two passes before tossing one to Pyrrha. Quickly putting it on, Pyrrha had a scant second to spare before Ruby started to pull her to the exit. "C'moooon, let's get to the dealer's alley before all the good stuff gets taken!"

Passing through several more crowds, and showing their badges to security, the two were let into an enormous room, where stall after stall was set up. Each was selling some anime or manga related merchandise.

However, Pyrrha's wonderment was cut short as someone boldly walked up to the pair with a camera. "W-would it be okay if I took a photo of you two?"

"Huh?" Wait, how did they know it's me? It sunk in after seeing Ruby take a pose that it wasn't the 'Invincible Girl' they wanted a picture of, but of the cosplays themselves. "Of course!"

Adopting the character's pose, a bright flash went off. The person thanked them before running off and yelling back;

"Sayoko for life!"

* * *

After many, many hours, Pyrrha groaned as she slowly slid into an unoccupied spot against the wall, her feet aching in the new shoes. A few moments later, Ruby joined her, plopping down next to her.

"I wasn't expecting this to be so tiring." Pyrrha mumbled after a moment.

"Well, that's what happens when you are running around for like eight hours." Ruby gave a shrug before turning to her. "So! Are you still having fun?"

Pyrrha nodded with a tired smile. "Quite! It's very interesting seeing all of these cosplays, and the things you can buy." Crimson hair swayed as she shook her head. "I didn't think that the show our costumes are from was so well-known."

"Hehe." The laughter was more awkward as Ruby sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. "Sorry, I didn't think about that… kinda did the opposite thing since we keep getting pulled aside for pictures, and the whole point was to make it so people didn't realize it was y-"

"It's fine, Ruby." Pyrrha gave her a quick peck on the cheek to silence the fast-pace babble. "Plus it's different… now I get pulled aside with you~!" A bright red blush lit up Ruby's face, telling Pyrrha that she'd done a job well done.

Yawning loudly, Pyrrha's head slowly drifted down towards Ruby's lap before, her girlfriend starting to pet her in a comforting way. It was intensely soothing, and Pyrrha was more than content to stay there forever. However, a question had been eating at her since they got there. "Why do they keep mentioning 'Sayoko' when we get our pictures taken? I don't remember a character with that name from the show at all."

"Oh! That's not a character, that's a ship name." Pyrrha's head tilted in confusion. "A ship name is…um, the name for two characters in a relationship, sorta. Sayoko is a combination of Sayaka and Kyoko… I guess?"

"I guess that makes sense… in a way?"

Before Ruby could respond, Pyrrha heard something. Perhaps it was because of how close she was to Ruby's stomach, or maybe because her girlfriend hadn't had food since breakfast but, a loud growling noise caused Pyrrha to jump.

"Oops… guess I'm hungry…" Ruby sheepishly started to rummage through their bags. "Good thing I bought some pockies!"

"Pockies?" Pyrrha parroted back, prompting Ruby to hold one out to her.

"Here ya go, they are really good." A moment later, Pyrrha wholeheartedly agreed with her, Ruby handing over a few more. "Wait!"

Pyrrha stopped moments before a pocky was about to be consumed. "Hm?"

"So you've never heard of the pocky game?" A rather predatory grin graced Ruby's face as Pyrrha shook her head.

"Basically, we're supposed to take bites without touching the other's person lips… you start on the other end." Taking one of the pockies that she'd handed Pyrrha, Ruby put one end into her mouth.

"Hm, alright." Pyrrha took a small bite from her end. _I think that's right?_

What she was not prepared for was Ruby taking a giant bite of it. She didn't stop close to Pyrrha's lips, in fact, she kept going until her's were pressed against the taller redhead's. And then kept going.

After nearly a minute, Ruby pulled away from their lingering, chocolate-y kiss for air. "So, um, wanna play again?"

Instead of answering with words, Pyrrha gleefully picked up another pocky and held onto the end with her teeth.

* * *

The frilly dress had finally gotten too much for Pyrrha in the summer heat, prompting a quick trip to the bathroom to change back into her normal gear.

 _It really is too hot to be wearing so many layers… how does Ruby wear her outfit in the summer?_ Pyrrha shook her head. _That must have three or four layer, how has she not gotten a heat stro-_

"OHMYGOSH, YOUR COSPLAY IS REALLY GOOD!"

Pyrrha was stopped in her tracks by… _me?_

Or rather, it was someone with a different body type and very much fake armour. _Is someone cosplaying me?_ Now that Pyrrha thought about it, she could remember a few people in the massive crowds dressed as her. "Uh, thank you but I'm no-"

"I'm running an Invincible Girl cosplay contest, could you please, please, please, please come? It'll only be ten minutes and it starts in a few minutes, pleaseeee?"

"Well…"

* * *

"I wonder where Pyrrha went…"

Ruby was searching for her girlfriend; it was time to go home now, and Pyrrha was nowhere to be seen for the past fifteen minutes.

"Ruby!" A very familiar voice called out to her, prompting her to twirl around. There was Pyrrha alright, back into her normal clothes. With one exception. A large medal hanging around her neck. As Ruby ran up to her, she could make out the wording on it, causing peals of laughter to erupt from her uncontrollably.

"Pfft, you got second place in an Invincible Girl cosplay contest?!" Pyrrha gave a helpless shrug, though the beautiful smile plastered across her face made it clear she wasn't disappointed in the least.

"Maybe I'll win next year?"

* * *

AU: For any who haven't guessed it, the anime they are cosplaying from is Madoka Magica. Pyrrha was going to be Kyoko purely because Super Saiyan Cyndaquil called Pyrrha, "Kyoko" for the first two volumes of RWBY. Yup. And then he suggested Sayaka for Ruby because that is a big ship in that fandom.

I'm realizing that I hyped up the dealer's alley and showed nothing that they got. I may do that next chapter.

Not gonna lie, this chapter was purely so I could have Pyrrha lose a cosplay contest as herself. For some reason I find it really funny.

Speaking of…

Recently, the chapters have been more just funny little skits then pure shipping. Would you rather me go back to doing the funny skits more infrequently and just ALL THE SHIPPING or do you not mind the change, much?

Anywho, time to go off to work and deal with sooooo much shit. Send help. D:

Thank you for reading and I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	41. Chapter 41

"Is something wrong?" Emerald eyes stared in concern at Ruby.

For the better part of the past few hours, Ruby had looked like she was struggling with something as she and Pyrrha trained in the courtyard. Letting out a loud whimper, Ruby gave an exasperated sigh. "It's too hooooot out. Like twenty degrees too hot."

Ruby sullen complaining prompted a giggle from her girlfriend. "It is summer, so that's to be expected… perhaps you could wear something with less layers?" True, Ruby's combat skirt made sense in the winter, with its many layers… but right now it was fifty degrees too warm for snow. "We could take a break so you could go change, if that'd be more comfortable for you?"

"I, uh… um." Ruby embarrassedly fidgeted with her fingers, causing Pyrrha to raise an eyebrow. "All I have is combat skirts with more layers. And scarves." Silver eyes darted down to the ground. "…Patch doesn't get this hot…"

"Hmm." Pyrrha tapped her chin in thought, before she had an epiphany. "I have an idea."

Hopeful silver eyes stared up at her.

"Let's get you some new clothes!"

* * *

"Do you think this comes in red?" Ruby asked questioningly, holding up a combat skirt.

"I think so? We could always ask one of the employees." Pyrrha had already started to look around the spacious store for someone with a nametag before Ruby tugged on her arm.

"Pyrrhaaa, half the fun is finding it ourselves! Ooo, found it!" Ruby triumphantly snatched up the bright red combat skirt.

Pyrrha eyed the growing stack of clothes that Ruby was picking out with some… trepidation. _Perhaps it's not my place to judge but… they all look a little heavy for summer wear._ "Ruby, are you sure those are going to be comfortable in the heat?"

Ruby stared at her like a deer caught in the headlights for a good ten seconds. "OH! Right, stuff that's okay for warm weather. Right." Ruby lamely put the combat skirts back, leading the pair back to square one.

"Perhaps a nice pair of shorts?" Pyrrha helpfully suggested after a moment, gesturing to a huge aisle of them. "Or a tank top?"

"I'll give it a shot?" Ruby uncertainly decided after a moment, and grabbed a pair of black shorts and a red tank top.

A few minutes later, Ruby walked out of the changing room.

As Ruby twirled around, she certainly looked the average teenager in summer, especially with the oversized headphones that she had resting on her neck.

Yet it was clear to Pyrrha that Ruby, while she was definitely no longer overheating, was not comfortable in them; she was fidgeting with the waistband and making frowny faces at herself in the mirror. "Is it not comfortable?"

Ruby shrugged. "It's okay… I guess? I guess I kinda just like combat skirts more then, er, these." She gestured to the loose fitting shorts.

"If they aren't comfortable, we can keep searching." Pyrrha gave Ruby a reassuring smile. "I'm sure we'll find something you'll like."

A good hour later, Ruby had tried on a myriad of different outfits, ranging from a sundress to nearly every combat skirt in the store. _We might not be able to find something after all…_ Certainly, Pyrrha was starting to have doubts after Ruby shook her head on what must have been the fifteenth outfit in a row.

The issue lied in finding a bottom that Ruby found comfortable. She was fine with a tank top, or a t-shirt, but outside of a combat-skirt, she wasn't finding anything to her liking.

"I'm sorry." Ruby mumbled. "Just none of them feel right, y'know? Maybe the shorts would have been okay… hey Pyrrha, how come you don't overheat?" Inquisitive silver eyes stared at the tall redhead.

"I suppose I'm more used to the heat; Mistral is far warmer then Vale, especially during the winter." Pyrrha almost shivered at the memory of them losing power for a few days during the most recent winter. _I really need more winter clothing…_ Emerald eyes blinked a new thought. _Wait._

Striding over to an aisle they hadn't visited yet, Pyrrha took a bottom off the rack before ushering Ruby into the changing room with it.

A few minutes of waiting later…

"This actually feels kinda comfortable?" The surprise in Ruby's voice made Pyrrha's smile grow as her girlfriend opened the door.

Standing there in a tank top and a mini-skirt that looked remarkably similar to Pyrrha's, was a rather happy – _or at least she wasn't uncomfortable_ \- looking Ruby.

Sometimes Pyrrha forgot what her girlfriend looked like outside of her combat skirt, or rather, forgot that Ruby showing lots of skin was, well, hot. Seeing her girlfriend in mini-skirt and a thin tank top, brought that thought to the forefront of Pyrrha's mind.

Evidently, that was clear not only in Pyrrha's head but on her body, as a growing crimson blush lit up Ruby's face. "Uhhh, on second thought, this might be too hot, uh…"

"…do you think I can get it in red?"

* * *

AU: SUPER QUICK CHAPTER

Real life has been stupid busy, hence why there was no _Dilation_ chapter last week, and why this is probably a little rushed and shorter than the norm. REAL LIFE WHY ARE YOU SO BUSY AHAHSOIHFAOSHNGAOGNAG

I'm hoping to start catching up with my writing list in a week or so, after real life has calmed down considerably. Yup. That's the dream right there. Get some _Acceptance_ done and all that good stuff.

Sorry, just a little stressed is all.

So yeah, Pyrrha and Ruby on a shopping trip. That's all I got.

Now I get to do stuff in scorching heat in a suit and tie. See why this chapter exists? :P

Thank you all of reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	42. Chapter 42

"I don't wanna get up."

Ruby mumbled into Pyrrha's back, as her arms tightened around her waist. "Just five more minutes."

While Pyrrha was inclined to give her girlfriend another five minutes, the fact was that she'd been doing that for nearly an hour. "Ruby, it's time to get up." Pyrrha gentle roused the redhead who'd latched onto her. "Everyone else is already awake."

"But it's the weekend, we can sleep in." Ruby whined into Pyrrha's ear before gently kissing the back of her neck. "C'mon, you're comfy. Pleeeease don't get up."

In Pyrrha's mind's eye, she could already see the huge pout that must have been spread across Ruby's lips. The pout that could let her girlfriend get away with murder. In fact, Pyrrha could already feel Ruby starting to turn her around, to put the oh so deadly pout in front of her, where it was deadly.

 _Nope, not going to happen!_ Pyrrha had fallen one too many times to it, and this wasn't going to be one of those times. Emerald eyes darted away, as Ruby came within inches of Pyrrha's face. "Pleaseeeee?" It was in times like these that Pyrrha acted without thinking. "Pleaseee- mmph!"

Rather suddenly, Pyrrha's lips pressed against Ruby's. _She can't convince me if I can't see the pout!_ It wasn't long until Pyrrha felt one of Ruby's hands start to thread through her long crimson hair, pulling her insistently into a deeper kiss.

The only problem with the logic that Pyrrha was following was that she couldn't pull away anytime soon, else the infamous pout would reappear. _Just need to keep kissing her_ – which, all things considered, was not a bad deal on Pyrrha's end by any means as she felt a probing tongue touch her own.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Pyrrha could feel Ruby start to move, her girlfriend straddling her. Then her hands left the red hair and moved at a languishing pace to Pyrrha's arms. That was when the pace went from slow to incredibly fast as Pyrrha felt her hands being pinned against the bed's headboard before Ruby started to pull away.

"Welp, now I'm awake, buuuuut I'm still not gonna leave this bed anytime soon~!" There was a kind of hunger in Ruby's silver eyes that Pyrrha wholeheartedly wanted to encourage as the smaller girl bent down and gently nibbled on her neck. "Is that okay?"

"That- mmm- that sound's gra-a-and." Pyrrha was having difficulty with words as Ruby started to leave small love bites all over her neck. It wasn't often that Ruby took the lead in these sorts of things, but when she did, Pyrrha was more than happy to hand over control.

Ever since Pyrrha had – somewhat selfishly – made it clear that she didn't mind being marked up at all, situations like this were becoming more common. _I guess Ruby is getting more used to having control?_ In some respects that was great; a lot of the times before, Ruby would more or less just let things happen to her submissively. Being proactive about it was definitely a turn on for Pyrrha as she got to see a different side of her girlfriend.

Yet, as Ruby reduced Pyrrha to pile of happy mewling noises, she couldn't help feel the opposite urge for once. The urge not to be the submissive one, but the one in control. Problematically, it was hard to sate that particular urge given how Ruby was effectively pinning her to the bed.

The chance came when Ruby brushed a stray strand hair out of Pyrrha's face. Pyrrha's lips wrapped around one of Ruby's fingers, sucking on it, making Ruby draw in a sharp breath. Which was just enough to loosen Ruby's grip, allowing Pyrrha to flip the situation around in a rather literal sense, pinning her girlfriend against the bed with ease. "Pyrrhaaa." The infamous pout emerged. "I was having fun."

However, Pyrrha was far beyond being phased by it. "I know, but now it's my turn." A rather hungry smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "I'll make sure you have fun too." It was moments like these that Pyrrha felt like the most like a true huntress before her prey.

"O-okay." A expression with a mix of uncertainty and excitement crossed Ruby's face all the while burning in a bright red blush as Pyrrha ever so slowly gave a light kiss on her knee, followed by another one slightly higher up. Then another. Each may have just been the lightest press of the lips, but the gasps that Ruby was making were starting to get closer to moans which meant that it didn't matter one iota to her.

It wasn't too much longer until an obstacle appeared in Pyrrha's way; Ruby's sleepwear. A barrier that wouldn't exist for much longer as Pyrrha lightly gripped the waistband-

 _ **Creak**_

The sound made Pyrrha feel as if her heart had jumped into her throat, as the redheads stop in their tracks as the sound had come distinctly from not them, causing their heads to slowly turn to the source.

Holding up a black bound book to cover her face, not that it matters considering the black bow atop her head, was Blake.

No one moved for what felt like hours as Pyrrha felt an embarrassed blush start to set in.

"I-was-just-getting-a-book-and-not-peeping-carry-on!" Blake blurted out before she started to fade into nothingness, the real girl having already left the room, with her shadow clone in her spot.

Ruby and Pyrrha slowly looked back at each other. Any semblance of the previous mood was shattered under the weight of embarrassment.

"I guess we should get out of bed now…"

* * *

AU: HEY LOOK, I DID A CHAPTER THIS WEEK!

Sorry about missing last week, I was working on _Acceptance_ and decided to do a _Dilation_ update, a thing that probably won't happen again for a long while. Speaking of which, _Acceptance_ will have an update in a few hours, so rejoice! :D

Also, I'm going to try and do MonCon this month which means a lengthy Pyrrha/Ruby one-shot of fluff (since fluff is the theme), so be on the look out for that!

Sadly, there won't be a _Dilation_ update today, unlike all the other times I update _Acceptance_ … sorry about that.

Okay, actual chapter stuff… I'm realizing that unless someone interrupts one of these scenes, that this won't be a T-rated story anymore. Or a fade to black for that matter. (Though, I guess it did sorta fade to black, what with Blake and her semblance.) Blake wasn't peeping in all honesty, she just wanted to get a book.

I'll definitely try and have a new chapter of _Spoon Equality_ out next weekend! :D

As always, thank you for reading and I hope to see everyone in the other update for the day, and if I don't I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	43. Chapter 43

Ruby is a huntress.

It was simply a fact of life; she'd grown up always knowing that's what she'd be. A slayer of Grimm and protector of the common good.

During her life, Ruby had hunted down countless Grimm, whole hordes of them, alone. She had faced armies of them with just a few teammates and her trusty weapon, always coming out on top. Yet she'd never faced anything quite like what she was up against now. Never before had she faced a prey so cunning, so devious, so frustrating as the one she was currently up against.

It must have been days ago since she started to track it; the only sign of its existence was a few footprints. Not the most promising of starts, but it was something. _At least it's more than nothing?_

While hunting it was definitely outside the parameters of Ruby and Pyrrha's mission, that didn't stop the short redhead from making it her personal mission to see that this particular creature was found before they left.

The prey in question was a lucky find to say the least; just from the footprints, Ruby knew it was far outside of its normal habitat. Which only increased Ruby's determination to find it.

She followed it high and low, following the footprints in what must have been in circles whenever Ruby and her girlfriend had a break between Grimm eliminations. Slowly but surely, she was closing in on the prey, the footsteps being the only indication of it.

Quite suddenly the fight of Ruby's life was upon her.

Naturally, Ruby aggressively went after it, throwing all her normal tricks at it, to no avail. There was no success to be found in conventional thinking. Yet even the unorthodox failed her. In a few short minutes, Ruby was left with nothing as her prey made it's escape.

Failure hung heavy on her shoulders as she made her way back into camp that night. It haunted her dreams as she tried in vain to find solace in the world of unconsciousness. It was only cuddling with Pyrrha that made sleep finally take Ruby in the early morning hours.

Even with dawn, and a whole night between Ruby and her failure, it still hung around her like the stink of old cheese. It was hard to enjoy the breakfast Pyrrha had made for h-

"Ruby?" Pyrrha's concerned voice and tight hug snapped Ruby out of her melanochic musings. Slightly. "I know you couldn't get it last night… but, guess what I found this morning?"

"Hm?" Ruby groggily hummed before Pyrrha pushed the short redhead's scroll into her hands… only to cause Ruby to jump from her seat.

"YOU CAUGHT IT?!" Ruby shouted incredulously before pulling Pyrrha into a huge, deep kiss, only parting finally for air. The prey that Ruby had been hunting for was right there. So, for Ruby, her reaction was more than a little understandable.

"Yes, well, your scroll kept vibrating, and you spent so long trying to find it…" Pyrrha's shy smile turned into a frown. "Just, please, promise to stop playing that game while we're on a mission… it's dangerous." Ruby numbly nodded as Pyrrha clicked her tongue in annoyance. "You nearly fell down in a crevice yesterday since you didn't look up from the screen."

"I'll be more careful." Ruby finally muttered, her silver eyes still glued to the screen, and a stupid grin etched into her face.

"I finally have a Gyarados…"

* * *

Pyrrha couldn't help but roll her eyes as Ruby's scroll vibrated.

It was like watching an addict being given the source of his addiction and attempt to refuse it. Ruby was trying with every bit of willpower to ignore the buzzing device because they were on a date in the park.

Never mind that Ruby had been constantly checking her scroll during their last mission, now that they were on a date, Pyrrha had noticed her girlfriend trying to avoid the device at all costs. It wasn't hard for Pyrrha to guess why, either. _Because she doesn't want to ignore me._

That was a thing that Ruby did a lot; when it was just the two of them not on a mission, she gave all of her attention to Pyrrha. While it was touching, it was akin to watching a dog try and ignore a piece of food on it nose.

"Ruby." Silver eyes were riveted on Pyrrha's hand as she pulled Ruby's scroll from her girlfriend's pocket. "It's okay." A gentle smile greeted Ruby as she slowly accepted the offered scroll.

In what seemed like a span of five seconds, Ruby disappeared in a fluttering of rose petals before returning with a happy grin on her face. "Okay, got it!" The smile dropped ever so slightly. "I really should turn this off tho-"

"Have you seen a Scyther around here?"

It was a deep, bellowing voice, one that Pyrrha had only heard about from Weiss and never forgotten, as a massive chainsaw-sword came out from the shadows that the parks' trees gave, followed by it's owner.

He was a massive man, easily one of the tallest people Pyrrha had ever met, making her feel like a Ruby must feel compared to her. While she might not have known his real name, the wanted posters had already given him a moniker: Banesaw

Plus, the White Fang mask was a bit of a giveaway.

Pyrrha was already reaching for Milo and Akouo, preparing for the fight of her life against the large Faunus, thinking of every factor in the envi-

"THERE IS A SCYTHER?!" Ruby's eyes went wide as her attention was glued to the scroll. "Which way?!"

Banesaw gestured to the left. "I had him at one step but it went to two."

"Ooo. We'll try that way first!" Ruby was already speeding that way when Pyrrha got a hold of her cape. "Uh…sorry." Ruby sheepishly slumped her shoulder upon realizing she was abandoning their date. "I guess I'll get it another time…"

"Ruby, that isn't the problem here." Pyrrha almost couldn't believe she had to say what she was about to say. "He's a wanted criminal!"

"Yeah, but it's Pokemon!" Ruby glanced at the large man, who was patiently waiting, glued to his own scroll's screen. "What team are you?"

"Instinct."

"See, he's the same team as me! We Instincts got to stick together!" Banesaw gave a quick nod and a high-five to Ruby. "So… truce?"

Pyrrha pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment before fishing out her own scroll from her pocket.

"…I still need a Scyther too…"

* * *

AU: I wonder if anyone can pick up on the fact that Pokemon Go has taken over my life…

Yup.

A bit of a silly chapter (more then a bit, but eh, what are you gonna do about it?), that I imagine a fair number of people will find funny giving the crazy sweeping the nation (er, world).

I was originally going to have the White Fang base be a Pokestop or a Gym, but settled on Banesaw and Ruby hunting pokemon together.

I do kinda feel like there wasn't much shippy stuff this chapter, more on the funny side if anything. I guess it balances out considering last chapter?

Don't have much else to say…

I should have a 3,000 to 4,000 word, Pyrrha/Ruby one-shot posted on Thursday. It'll be super cute and fluffy!

New chapter for Spoon Equality in a week!

Thank you for reading and I hope everyone has a great week! :D


	44. Chapter 44

"Why is it so hooooot?"

Ruby gave a pained moan as she continued to be unable to deal with the recent heat wave. There was only so much ice cream and cold soda one could drink to help alleviate it.

…and probably clinging to her girlfriend wasn't helping much either, given that Pyrrha was more or less a furnace. Or the half an hour they'd spent sparring outside in the humid weather. That too.

"Well, I think it's because the planet's axis is tilted, hence why we have seasons, since we get different amounts of sunlight when we're on different tilts." Pyrrha paused for a moment, before continuing innocently. "Though, I suppose heat isn't that bad, it's really the humidity that feels uncomfortable."

"You're mocking me." Ruby deadpanned after nearly half a minute, sweat dripping down her nose and her brain feeling slightly foggy from the heat.

"No, no, no!" Crimson hairs swished as Pyrrha shook her head, a horrified tone entering her voice at the mere notion that she was mocking Ruby. "I'm completely serious; because there is so much moisture in the air from the humidity, it makes it harder for someone to cool down, hence why it's so uncomfortable."

"…" Ruby didn't know what to say, instead opting to continue cuddling with her girlfriend and sweating out what felt like a gallon of sweat from the heat. "Pyrrhaaaa… make the weather suck less."

Ruby felt her tall girlfriend move from her embrace, turning around to give a rather helpless look. "I would if I could, my love."

A frown started to stretch across Ruby's face. "Well, how come you aren't dying of heat?"

"Where I'm from, in Mistral, it's far more humid than this during the summer. And hot." Pyrrha made a disgusted face before shaking her head sadly. "Honestly, if you think this is bad, we should take a trip over there…"

"Nope, I'm good." _So much for visiting Pyrrha's place over the summer_ , Ruby thought glumly. It was weather like this that was making her wish she'd taken up Weiss' invitation during the summer break to visit Atlas, known for being colder than Vale. "Weather sucks."

"Hmm." Pyrrha sat up. "I don't think lying in bed all afternoon is going to make it any more bearable for you." Ruby felt Pyrrha trying to pull her up from the sweat covered sheets. "You'll feel better after a shower, it'll wash off all the sweat."

"Buh." Inertia and apathy was keeping Ruby from moving a millimeter of her own accord as Pyrrha struggled to get her into motion. Giving a huge and prolonged sigh, Ruby finally started to move "Fineeee." It wasn't that she was being grumpy at Pyrrha… so much as the weather was making her feel crappy.

"How about we get ice cream?" Pyrrha suggested as Ruby trudged into the bathroom, clearly in some attempt to motivate her. "Does that sound good?"

Ruby nodded, a tad more energetic then she was before as Pyrrha flashed her a quick smile. "I'll be back in twenty minutes with some… strawberry, right?" Which earned another quick nod as Pyrrha made her way out of the room.

A large grin started to spread across Ruby's face. _How am I so lucky to have Pyrrha?_

* * *

Ruby had to agree that life was definitely looking better.

Something about spoon feeding strawberry ice cream to her beautiful girlfriend while also being spoon fed ice cream by said girlfriend did a lot to improve one's mood, despite the weather.

"Mhmm." Ruby savoured the taste before sticking the spoon into the bowl of icy goodness, and leaning over to kiss Pyrrha. "Thank you."

"T-Think nothing of it," A beaming Pyrrha muttered almost embarrassedly. "I'm just glad you seem a bit better than before… you weren't looking so hot."

"I was definitely feeling hot." Ruby mumbled before feeding a spoonful of strawberry ice cream to Pyrrha… before groaning at the accidental pun. "Uh, I mean, humid. It was humid."

Emerald eyes seemed to almost sparkle as Pyrrha lifted a spoon of ice cream to Ruby's lips. "Well, you are _always_ hot to me." The sudden growing blush _may_ have made Ruby miss the spoon, the cold treat instead splattering against her face. "Sorry! Let me get that for you." Before Ruby could even speak, she felt the hot, warm sensation of Pyrrha's tongue as her girlfriend licked the ice cream off her cheek. "There, all better." Pyrrha stated after a giggle.

"U-uh yeah, thanks Pyrrha." Ruby was definitely feeling the heat and for once, it wasn't from the humid weather, as a matching crimson blush tinged Pyrrha's cheeks.

Perhaps Ruby's hand was a bit shaky because of Pyrrha, or perhaps her grip was slippery from all the sweat, or maybe the silver eyed teen had something else in mind but the ice cream never made it to the tall red head's mouth. It did get close, but fell just short, splattering onto Pyrrha's collarbone before quickly sliding down. Down to the very generous swell of her chest.

"My bad, let m-me get that for you." Ruby was already licking downwards, trying to give every drop of runny ice cream as it dripped down her girlfriend's front.

 _Maybe the heat isn't so bad, after all?_

* * *

AU: Hey look, a new chapter! Can you tell what kind of weather I'm suffering through? I'll give you three guesses.

Legitimately, Pyrrha wasn't being a smart ass, she was just answering the question.

 **IMPORTANT** :

Hey, so this is something like the 44th chapter of Spoon Equality, so I figure if you are reading this, you like Pyrrha/Ruby, if only a little bit! If you do, I have good news for you! The RWBY subreddit has a monthly writing/drawing competition that I entered in. The Character for the month was whoever is your favourite and the theme is fluff.

So a 4,000 word fluffy as shit one-shot for Pyrrha/Ruby has been posted, which I think some might find worth reading! It's called _"Milk & Cereal"_

tl;dr: I wrote a 4k fluffy one shot for Pyrrha/Ruby, which you should go read and maybe vote for on the subreddit in a day or two

Okay, that's about it?

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	45. Chapter 45

Ruby had a rather sudden epiphany.

They always happened at the weirdest times, such as when one was getting some juice on the way back to the dorms.

It wasn't about something as grand as the answer to life or something as mundane as the true nature of the salad fork. No, it was something altogether quite different, something that had been staring her in the face the whole time.

 _I haven't been the big spoon in forever!_

Somewhere along the lines of the very fair and impartial way of deciding spoon position by a game of chance, the system had become decadent and corrupt. Overwhelmingly, Pyrrha had become the dominant big spoon.

Even on the nights that Ruby had won their games, somehow when she woke up, she'd always find herself cocooned in Pyrrha's arms. That's not to say Ruby didn't immensely enjoy being held in those muscled arms but something was definitely amiss.

"How am I supposed to be the big spoon?" Ruby muttered dejectedly as she slowly reached for her dorm room's handle-

"Dooooo you want some help?" Brilliant turquoise eyes suddenly filled Ruby's vision as she jumped back. "Because I could totally help you with that!"

"N-Nora?" It had taken Ruby a moment to realize who had all but teleported in front of her. "Um… help with what?"

"Being the big spoon, silly!" Nora's smile seemed to only grow. "You were mumbling about being the big spoon, and so I went 'oh, she is probably talking about Pyrrha!' Then I thought to myself 'I know, I could totally help her be the best big spoon ever!' "

"Uh…" A second or two passed as Ruby's brain caught up in processing all that Nora said. "Wait, you can?" Nora enthusiastically nodded. "How?!"

"Well, I may not look it, but I AM the big spoon master!" An almost evil looking gleam had entered Nora's eyes. "I'll have you up to big spoon material in no time!" Nora tapped her chin in an almost sagely manner, "but first, we're going to need a volunteer…"

* * *

"Hey Weiss, can you sleep with me?"

As Weiss' mouth gaped open and close, Ruby was hard-pressed to stop herself from snickering as Nora stared with the most serious of expressions at the white-haired teen. "E-excuse me?!" Weiss shrieked loud enough that Ruby was surprised their window didn't shatter.

Nora merely rolled her eyes. "I need you to sleep with me, like, right now." Somehow, Ruby felt that helped explain less than nothing to Weiss.

"W-what, why, how… I'm not going to have… that's not to say…" After nearly a minute of sputtering sounds that almost sounded like words, Weiss finally seemed to recover her composure enough to give an answer: "No."

"Aww, c'mon, it's for Ruby!" Nora gestured to Ruby, who in turn nodded, only adding to the most confused look that she'd ever seen her partner make.

"Weiss, pleaseeeee?" Ruby gave the biggest puppy dog eyes she'd ever tried on someone, far outshining anything she had tried on Yang or even Pyrrha. A look that could only have been perfected by watching Zwei beg for treats. "Pleaseeee?~"

It worked with a moderate effect, causing Weiss to pinch the bridge of her nose. "There had better be a good explanation for what is going on…"

"Okay, so, I was just walking down the hallway when I heard Ruby mention that she wanted to be the big spoon, and me, being the good friend that I am, offered to help teach her how to be the best big spoon ever, but I need someone to demonstrate on, and Ruby said that you were on a study break, so it actually makes perfect sense!"

Weiss' hand left the bridge of her nose as she gave the two an eye-twitching look, before finally settling her gaze on Nora. "So you mean you don't want to have sex but show how to cuddle?" Nora nodded. "No."

"But Weiss, pleaseeeee?"

"No."

"Aww." Ruby sadly whined. "I was going to make you apple cookies and everything…"

Weiss looked at Ruby, then Nora and finally back to Ruby. "I'm going to regret this." Weiss gave out a long, almost pained sigh. "…fine."

"Yay!" Nora and Ruby high-fived each other before the orange-haired teen all but dragged Weiss into a bed before jumping onto it. "Okay, so, first I need Weiss to get behind me." Weiss limply laid behind her. "Now wrap you're hands around me." Once more, Weiss half-heartedly complied, although she looked like she could drop dead from embarrassment at any given time.

"Still watching, Ruby?" Ruby nodded pensively as she pulled out a notepad and started to take notes while Weiss sent a very flabbergasted look her way. "So when you are like this, you need to wait until the other person's grip relaxes, normally when they are breathing out, and that's when you strike!" In a blink of an eye and a loud 'Eep!' from Weiss, Nora had flipped over the former big spoon and was now the current big spoon.

"Ooo." Ruby's pencil furiously jotted down word for word what Nora said and even drawing a crude diagram. "So you are saying that I should wait until Pyrrha falls asleep to make my move?"

"Yup! That'll be when she is at her weakest!" Nora dramatically wrapped her arms around Weiss' waist. "Now you need to grab hold tightly to make sure she can't break your hold like this." Nora was pressed extremely tightly against Weiss' back, leaving no room for personal space. "Now, try to break out Weiss."

Ruby waited with a batted breath to see how her partner would try and fail to escape from the hold… only nothing happened. "Weiss…?"

Even from where Ruby was sitting, she could see something was _off_. She expected Weiss to look like someone dying of embarrassment. Instead she looked far mortified than Ruby was expecting, in fact she almost seemed _happy_? "W-what if the little spoon, the _hypothetical_ little spoon, was perfectly content to stay the little spoon-"

"Weiss, that's not what I'm trying to show Ruby."

As the two were bickering, Ruby noticed something. Something that caused her to second guess herself for a brief moment before asking, "Weiss, are you blushi-"

"Nora, I need to get back to studying, let me go right now!" What seemed off to Ruby was Weiss' voice didn't match her words. Her tone wasn't angry but rather borderline embarrassed or even guilty, perhaps even panicked. It was that tone that finally convinced the orange haired girl let go, causing Weiss to all but teleported out of the room, her icy eyes avoiding Nora or Ruby's general direction in the process.

"So! What did you learn?" Nora asked as the door slammed shut, prompting Ruby to hand over her notepad. "Hm, yes, good. So I see." Once more Nora sagely tapped her chin in thought. "Okay, time for plan B."

"Plan B?" Yet, even as Ruby parroted back the words, Nora was out the door and went into the JNPR dorm room.

"Hello Nora!" Pyrrha's warm voice could be heard even across the hall, "how was yo-"

"Let Ruby be the big spoon tonight or we're going to do double the workout tomorrow!"

* * *

AU: I've been meaning to do this chapter since chapter 10 or so.

I'm realizing that unless you watched the most recent episode of RWBY Chibi, this might be a little bit confusing. Basically, Nora's work outs end with everyone else in full body casts.

I figure that since Weiss likes apples, apple cookies are a good bribe.

Yup.

I don't have much else to say other than this is a fun idea and it took FAR too long for me to finally write out. I may have rushed it also a bit… but I'm happy with it! :P

Side note: For all those people who may have read and voted for Milk & Cereal in the July MonCon, thank you! I ended up winning! :3

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	46. Chapter 46

"It's getting late, I think I'll head to bed, Ruby."

Pyrrha yawned loudly as she started to put her notebook away, and made her way over to the bed.

She didn't make it more than a two feet before Ruby grabbed her. "Wait, we haven't done our game yet! We haven't picked who the big spoon is!"

"Oh, right." Pyrrha awkwardly rubbed her arm, her emerald eyes refusing to meet Ruby's silver ones. "I don't mind letting you be the big spoon tonight, if that would be easier?"

Something wasn't adding up to Ruby; _Pyrrha always wants to be the big spoon!_ The almost meek look across her face provided a sharp contrast to the usually highly competitive air that was about her when it came to their games. "Uh, you sure about that? You suuuuure you want to give up your big spoon privileges so easily?"

"I'm fine with it." Pyrrha gave an innocent smile and a small shrug before continuing to make her way to the bed, rolling over onto her side. Ruby started to raise a finger and make a protest before something clicked, something that made everything make more sense; _right, Nora did threaten her with a double workout…_

In the end Ruby did really want to be the big spoon, and so, gladly accepted the easy win, wrapping her arms around Pyrrha before snuggling up against her back.

 _Victory is a victory, I guess?_

* * *

By the fifth night, Ruby was feeling more than a little miffed.

Pyrrha had once more elected to go to bed, and forfeited their game of chance before it ever began. Sure, being the big spoon unopposed was a nice change of pace, but this wasn't what Ruby wanted. Half the experience was playing the games, so forfeits were just hollow victories.

 _Weiss was right, sometimes being the little spoon is nice! …just not all the time, that's all, y'know spooning equality!_ With that in mind, Ruby wasn't going to let this night end like the previous four, not without a fight. "Pyrrha Nikos, I challenge you to rock paper scissors!"

Emerald eyes blinked curiously at Ruby as Pyrrha sat up, a sheet falling off her. "I'm sorry?" Long hair swished as she shook her head. "No, no, it's fine Ruby, you can be the big spoon, I promise." A reassuring smile slowly crept across Pyrrha's face but Ruby wasn't going to give into that alluring sight, _not today!_

"Nu-uh, you keep forfeiting, and where's the fun in that?" Ruby started to pout, however, Pyrrha was clearly unmoved by the trembling lip, which only happened once every five blue moons. "C'mon, pleaseeee? For me?"

Ruby knew she had won when Pyrrha gave a long sigh, knowing that her girlfriend was fully intent on getting her to play a game whether she liked it or not. "I suppose I could do a quick game." Ruby did a quick fist pump of victory before adopting the most serious stance she could…

…while Pyrrha slowly got up from the bed, her posture lazy, sloppy even. Not the serious intent she usually handled their games with. Ruby's lips compressed into a frown as it became apparent that Pyrrha clearly wasn't going to take this seriously, _maybe she doesn't like playing the games anymore?_ That notion was more than a little saddening before another though occurred to her, or _maybe she is just trying to trick me into letting my guard down?_

"Rock!" Still, no seriousness was leaking into her posture, as she lamely shook her fist in time with the chant. "Paper!" The moment of truth was nearly upon them. "Scissors!" Even as Ruby's fingers made the paper symbol, she could tell something was wrong, as Pyrrha's hand stayed in a closed fist.

"…did you just… did you just throw the game?" Ruby accusingly pointed at Pyrrha who offered nothing besides a sleepy yawn. "Uhhhh, try again?"

"Sure, but I'd be okay with you being the big spoon tonight, just so you know Ruby." Pyrrha pointed out after a moment.

"Bah, it's more fun this way!"

"Rock!" In an almost grating manner, Pyrrha continued to take it half-heartedly as she limply shook her fist. "Paper!" _If she isn't going to try, I'll just win against her again!_ "Scissors!"

Ruby's paper beat Pyrrha's rock.

The frown across Ruby's face only deepened at another victory as Pyrrha started to head back to the bed. "Hey wait, I want a rematch!"

Pyrrha's head tilted in clear confusion. "But you won…?" To be fair, asking for a rematch AFTER winning did sound kind of fishy if Ruby had been thinking straight.

"Yeah well, um, final match and winner takes… uh, the next week's big spoon!" Ruby was going to get Pyrrha to play seriously before the end of the night, even if she kept on having rematches until class started in the morning.

"Rock!" _Why won't she take this seriously?_ "Paper!" _Maybe she is just tired, and really wants to go to sleep? Ruby's resolve wavered at the thought, as her eyes drifted away from the gestures they were making and towards her girlfriend's face._ "Scissors!"

The sight that greeted her wasn't anything like Ruby was expecting; a serious expression, the kind that someone would have one hundred moves into a chess game was etched into Pyrrha's eyes, freezing Ruby up. It was the look of a predator eying its prey. Gone was the half-awake lazy movements as Ruby failed to change her gesture from rock while Pyrrha's turned into paper lightning quick.

"I suppose this means that I'll be the big spoon tonight?" An almost smug smile graced itself across Pyrrha's face as Ruby looked back and forth between her rock and her girlfriend's scissors. "After all, you said winner takes all, if memory serves?"

Ruby was already starting to sputter out a protest as the predator look returned in those emerald eyes, causing the protest to die before ever being vocalized. "Bed. Now."

 _I walked right into that one, didn't I?_

* * *

AU: Pyrrha was very tired and wanted to go to sleep.

That's all I'm going to say about that, yup.

Anywho, in regards to last chapter I've been calling Nora/Weiss "White Lightning" for a good half year plus as of now, so that's the ship name I used, for those who are wondering.

 _Dilation_ chapter should be out on Tuesday… maybe. Hopefully. If the stars align…

For those wondering, I'm not planning on having the new _Acceptance_ chapter out this month, unfortunately. While I did get the first draft done last night, and I could probably rush it through editing and get it out within a week, it's going to need a LOT of editing, and intensive editing at that. Sorry for the abnormally long wait on that! D:

Thank you for reading, and I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	47. Chapter 47

Pyrrha let out a happy sigh as she took in the view before her.

No, school, or rain, or late night projects today, just the beautiful, scenic beach with her friends. A scene that was far out shone by her beautiful girlfriend, who at the moment was in a swim suit, doing much the same; ogling the ocean.

All the planning had been done and double checked, heck, even the weather was clear and warm, the sun was shining. Everything was going right.

 _Today is going to be a fun day._

"You're going to burn if you don't put some suntan lotion on." A very concerned voice pulled the tall redhead out of her musings, as Ruby nudged her with a bottle of it.

"Sorry!" Pyrrha's hand went to take the bottle… only for it to move out of her grasp at the last moment, causing the teen's head to tilt in confusion. "Ruby…?"

"M-Mind if I put it on you?" Ruby's voice was almost shy as she asked, as if she was nervous that Pyrrha, in some alternative universe might deny her that. "I-if that's okay?"

Instead of answering, Pyrrha merely set out one of the towels she was holding across the sand, and settling into a comfortable position with a relaxed smile. "That sounds like a grand idea, Ruby."

In some ways, Ruby had two different modes. There was the side of Ruby that Pyrrha saw when they were alone, the one that wasn't afraid of doing intimate stuff with her. It was a side that had no qualms about randomly giving Pyrrha a bunch of love bites just because. On the other hand…

When they were in public, that side disappeared, and Ruby always seemed to be a tad… hesitant about doing anything even vaguely physical with her. This was the perfect example; if it had just been the two, the stutter in her voice would be gone, and the shy tone would have been nearly non-existent.

Honestly, Pyrrha was fine with that, she even found it to be more than a little endearing. Trying to push or change that would be something she'd never force on her Rose, despite perhaps wanting to be a bit more physical when other were around. But it was… it was…

Her ability to form coherent thoughts suddenly started to evaporate as Ruby's hands began to make stress in muscles that Pyrrha didn't even know she had, disappear.

Somehow she had forgotten that Ruby was _really_ good at massages. _How did I forget this? I need to get more of these._ Yet that mental note was quickly forgotten, as quiet happy sounds kept coming from her lips.

The sound of approaching footsteps ended that train of thought quickly, as the massage stopped, Ruby's hands jerking away at the noise.

"Um, I know you two are a thing and all, but, uh, Ruby, we reaaally don't need to know how happy you make Pyrrha." Yang said.

Pyrrha could feel her own cheeks burn with embarrassment, and a glance at Ruby's showed that hers were positively ruby red, as a silence descended.

In some attempt to break the awkward silence, Pyrrha said the first thing that came to her mind.

"…so, do you need help applying some suntan lotion on yourself, Ruby?"

* * *

The problems with having Pyrrha Nikos as your girlfriend were vast and numerous, on occasion – even if they were pleasant ones.

In this particular occasion, it was that playing beach volleyball with your bikini clad girlfriend was… difficult.

It was like playing a video game on some super suicidal difficulty. On the one hand, one would imagine that one's eyes would stay firmly planted on the ball. That made a logical sort of sense, given the ball was the object of the game. On the other hand…

Getting to ogle Pyrrha Nikos in a bikini, _and_ having the girl herself give a big bashful smile whenever Ruby got caught, was faaar more distracting than some bouncing white ball.

So in terms, of actually playing the game… Ruby was pretty sure she was useless. Nora and Yang just wrecked them, as Pyrrha could only handle so much on her own, even with her reach.

 _Focus Ruby, focus! You can do this!_ The thought of Yang's smug face was enough to temporarily pull the girl away from gawking at the object of her affection. _I just need to focus on the ball. The bouncing ball…_

Problematically, there were two bouncing orbs that were much easier on the eyes to follow. It was only by the most extreme self-control that Ruby once more pulled her mind out of the gutter. _Maybe, I should be where I can't see them?_

For a time, that worked, as the two sides became more even… only for Yang and Nora to start winning again.

It wasn't the bounce this time that drew silver eyes, but the defined back muscles as Pyrrha spiked the ball, or bumped it. _WHY IS MY MIND SO DEEP IN THE GUTTE-_

That was the precise moment a volleyball smacked Ruby in the forehead, knocking her over.

"Ruby!" In a moment, the lovely teen was looming over Ruby, with a very concerned gleam in her eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Ruby shook her head, slowly figuring out her surroundings, slowly making out the concerned figures of Nora and Yang hovering over them. "Did we lose?"

"Probably." Pyrrha gave a small shrug. "C'mon, let's get you to the first aid station." Without further ado, Pyrrha scooped Ruby up in her arms, in a bridal carry before trotting away from the game.

As annoying as the problems that came from dating such a wonderful individual, Ruby couldn't help but feel that the positives far outweighed them as she snuggled her head against the two bouncy orbs.

 _Totally worth it._

* * *

AU: The Promise Land has arrived.

The Beach chapter.

Except, that's not quite right. More like… BEACH MINI-ARC!

…I have to hit all the beach tropes.

Randomly, I realized that the "[insert character name here], you useless lesbian!" REALLY applies to Ruby in this chapter, especially for volleyball. In her defense, it IS Pyrrha Nikos.

Also, sorry for having this chapter be a day late. I TECHNICALLY had it done yesterday, but was too lazy to go through the edits until today and then I had a bad case of "OOO, LOOK A SHINY!" for a good few hours. Normally I would have posted this right before work, but, well… my poor dog got sprayed by a skunk (in the mouth actually), and everything where I live now smells like it… so work didn't want me to come in, and therefore my need/want to post was lessened.

Tl;dr: I was lazy.

Right, so I'm going to try for _Dilation_ on Tuesday.

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	48. Chapter 48

Ruby was going to build the best sand castle on the beach.

Which was hard, considering that she was competing against Nora 'I'm Queen of the Castle!' Valkyrie.

Clearly, one must make a sandcastle when one is at the beach, and today was no exception. Nora had the same idea, and in some quirk of arguing over the technical details on a combined sand castle, had decided to see who could make the better sand castle in an hour.

 _I'm gonna beat her, and totally prove that every castle needs a big moat!_ To that end, Ruby had inducted her girlfriend into the delicate art of sand castle building. _Two against one, we're totally going to win!_ Wiping the sweat off her brow, Ruby took a step back to admire their combined effort.

It was a fairly standard castle, as far as castles went, with typical eight big towers giving shape to its huge square-like outline. There was even a keep in the middle, the big building having been tough to make… especially since they made the walls first. Then again, it DID mean that Pyrrha had to hold Ruby over the wall as she made the sand-based structure, her strong grip preventing the younger redhead from knocking over the walls.

 _Not that the walls couldn't have handled it! …okay, the walls suck_. Ruby had to admit that much; her stomach had accidentally scrapped against the top of the ramparts one too many times. _But at least they are still standing!_ Still, there was at least one redeeming factor of the structure: the moat.

The waterway stretched out and around the castle, protecting the fort from any invader. _Well, not if they could fly…_ Ruby shook the thought from her head as Pyrrha put the finishing touches on it, right as the time limit ran out. It was a sand castle they both could be proud of. It wasn't perfect, but Ruby preferred to think of it having seen some action in its short time. _I bet Nora's isn't even half as good!_

It was with smug silver eyes that Ruby glanced towards her competitor's spot. That smugness vanished almost instantly. There was no mere sand castle next to Nora. No, rather, there was a whole sand village around a mighty fortress that was perched on a huge sand mountain taller than Pyrrha.

 _How did she even make that?!_ Despair started to set in, - even through Pyrrha's encouragement - as Ruby knew she couldn't hold a candle to something so… grandeur. Yet there was still hope, albeit a very biased one.

Weiss was the judge for the competition.

 _There is no way she is going to pick Nora over her own partner!_ Ruby felt complete and utter faith in her partner's judgment, well, as long as Weiss picked her.

So it was with hopeful eyes, that Ruby watched Weiss examine the two sand-based fortifications along with the rest of the group, before the icy blue eyes honed in the small redhead. Ruby's hopes and dreams dropped as Weiss flashed her an apologetic smile. "Nora's is better, sorry Ruby." Nora's cries of jubilant victory were instant.

The teen's shoulders slumped in defeat for a handful of seconds before Pyrrha whispered something in her ear, causing Ruby's cheeks to turn a bright pinkish-red from embarrassment as she let herself be led away by her smiling girlfriend.

After all, it wasn't every day you got to be _privately_ tutored by your girlfriend.

* * *

 _Why do I have to get them?_

It was a redundant statement as Blake knew the answer to the rhetorical question:

After the sand castle building competition, it was hard to miss the huge smile that was plastered across Pyrrha's face as she led an embarrassed Ruby away to a secluded cove. Blake hardly had to imagine the consolation prize that Ruby was getting.

Yet, as the hours passed by, they hadn't come back. Which wasn't a problem in the least… until the barbecue started. Now it was a problem. Or more specifically, it was a problem because _someone_ had to let them know the food was ready.

Surprisingly, there were no volunteers for the task.

Lots had been drawn, and the one who came up short was Blake. Hence she was slowly making her way to the cove, meandering to avoid whatever sight that greeted her.

 _It's bad enough that I walked in on them doing… whatever it was they were doing in the dorm room._ Blake's face flushed red, _I can't imagine what they are doing completely by themselves_. _For hours_. Or rather, Blake could imagine. After all, the downfall of reading such quality works of literature such as Ninjas of Love was that very little was _left_ to the imagination.

Walking around a solid wall of rock that made up the cove, the first thing that Blake was greeted with was the clear voices of the two absent redheads, courtesy of her Faunus ears. Except…

"You just need to hold it like this and…"

"Oh, oh, oh, oh!" Ruby's excited voice repeated in higher and higher tones.

"Very good, that lasted far longer than last time! This isn't so bad, nothing you have to be embarrassed about." Pyrrha's voice was full of encouragement. "It's all about finding the right tempo and angle, that's how you hit the sweet spot."

"Ooo, let's try again, I bet I can hit the sweet spot!"

"That sounds grand, though, I'm getting quite sore, perhaps we could slow it down a little?"

"Just one more time? Then I'll let you rest!" Blake could almost see the pleading look on Ruby's face from the tone alone. "Pleaseee?"

"I… suppose another time wouldn't hurt."

Blake's ears flattened against her hair, as heat rose to her cheeks.

Images of what the two could be doing flooded through her brain; the things that two hormonal girls would do alone to each other. Specifically two girls who were dating each other…

 _You can do this Blake, you used to be a member of the White Fang. Hell, you've been partnered with Yang for literally years, you've seen worse._ With that mantra repeating in her head, Blake finally rounded the corner, and a figure came into view, silhouetted against the sun. Or rather two figures intertwined- _nope I'm not doing this_ , amber eyes averted to any direction but straight ahead.

"Oh, hey Blake!" Ruby's voice called out, – no embarrassment in her voice what-so-ever - making the Faunus nearly jump before settling into standing completely still. "Wanna join us?"

"I-uh… c-come again?" The normally well-articulated Faunus was at a loss of words as very _very_ dirty thoughts ran rampant through her head, _I'm hearing things, it has to be it._

"…oh, have you never done it before?" Pyrrha's curious voice called out. "I'm no master, but I could at least teach you the basics."

"Psch, you, like, always hit the sweet spot, Pyrrha." Ruby's voice was suddenly directed at Blake. "Seriously, just watch!"

If this was one of the animated cartoons that Blake watched, she was sure blood would be gushing out of her nose, as she felt helpless in this bizarre situation that she'd been thrown into. _I… I just need to tell them the food is ready_. Yet… there was also a deep seated curiosity, almost a morbid one, to see what exactly was being… _offered_.

It was through a supreme force of will that Blake's eyes finally resettled onto Pyrrha… just in time to watch her throw a stone at the ocean and watch it skip for nearly half a minute.

"See, wasn't that amazing?!" Ruby practically gushed praise at Pyrrha, as the girl in question timidly blushed and rubbed her arm. "Is your arm okay?"

"It's just a little sore from throwing stones all day." An encouraging smile graced her lips. "You weren't too bad yourself… I'm just glad that you're a bit more confident with your throwing skills now." That encouraging smile faded into a concerned frown as emerald eyes met amber ones. "Blake, are you okay? You look a bit flushed…"

"I… you…" Words were not working for Blake at the moment as her team leader and her team leader's girlfriend's worried stare was focused on her.

"D-Dinner is ready."

* * *

AU: This was a fun one to write.

I don't know if this was communicated very well, but the reason that Ruby was blushing and being led away was because she was embarrassed at not being able to skip stones.

I hope everyone likes it!

In other news _, Acceptance_ chapter 24 has just been sent in for editing… expect that in two weeks.

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	49. Chapter 49

"Mmhmm!~"

Before Pyrrha had even finished chewing, more delicious barbecue was hovering in front of her lips.

There was something amazing about watching the sunset with your girlfriend on the beach, while said girlfriend fed you amazing food.

"Ruby, I don't think I can eat another bite," Pyrrha weakly protested. "Sorry."

"Aww… but we have so much left of it! And I love feeding you… " Yang had gone a bit… over the top and had made enough food to fill a feast. "And it's not as good as left overs!"

Huge silver eyes and pouting lips bore into Pyrrha's soul. Yet the almost painfully full sensation in her stomach overpowered them. "I… I really can't eat another bite…"

"Aw, okay." Ruby mournfully set aside the fork but perked right back up. "So what do you want to do now? We got a few more hours before we have to head back."

There were any number of things left to do; play in the water some more, surfing, bury someone in the sand… yet only one thing sounded appealing to Pyrrha at the moment. "If it's okay with you, would you like to watch the sunset?"

"Sure!" A bright smile lit up Pyrrha's face as Ruby cuddled up against her on sand, her lithe frame pressed against the taller one's side. Slowly, it felt like the rest of the world melted away besides the two of them and the setting sun.

It was the simple things in life, like this, that made Pyrrha the happiest. Not some grand gesture, though that was always nice; no, just being able to enjoy something as simple like a sunset with her loved one. With Ruby.

Almost lazily, Pyrrha felt Ruby shift, her lips tickled by the red streaked hair brushing across them, before Ruby strained upwards and gave her a kiss, eliciting a giggle from her. It just felt instinctive to Pyrrha as she captured Ruby's lips before she had much of a chance to move away, pulling her into a soft, lingering kiss. "I love you too."

Such a simple phrase never failed to make Pyrrha feel warm and all sorts of fuzzy on the inside, and just saying it made her feel happy. "I love you so much." It felt kind of silly to say that, even to Pyrrha's ears, but what else was there _to_ say?

"But I love you more." Ruby's voice was quiet, hard to hear over the gently rolling waves of the ocean as she looked up into Pyrrha's eyes. "I love everything about you... your smile and your face, and how you're so kind to me and always care about me and… and… I just love everything about you."

Words were not working for Pyrrha, as her heart felt like a gooey mess from what her girlfriend had said, so she did the only thing she could think of: pressing her lips against Ruby's in a needy fashion before pulling away for air after a minute.

"I just wished I knew what I did to have someone as amazing as you even want to be with me…" Pyrrha felt guilty admitting it, as she trailed a single finger down Ruby's arm. "You've always made me feel loved, and happy… I love you more than you know."

"Hehe, I don't know what I did to deserve the best girlfriend ever, either." Ruby brought her arm to her face, and gently kissed Pyrrha's hand. "I'm pretty sure that I'm the luckier one."

Red hair swayed as Pyrrha shook her head. "I'm pretty sure you're a better girlfriend than me."

Ruby's eyes narrowed, as if challenged. "Well, you always make me cookies and homemade food and stuff, and I can't cook half as good, so you're the better girlfri-"

"But you always make sure I have fun, and know all these interesting places and take me on dates to them." Pyrrha countered instantly, a massive grin on her face.

"Nu-uh!" Ruby shook her head. "I'm just lucky at guessing, and you always make the dates fun, even if they suck-"

"They don't suck because I'm happy just to be with you, AND you get me to try new things all the time, like video games, which are really fun."

"Well… I… you…" Ruby was starting to falter in the argument. "YOU HAVE THE BEST BUTT!"

Ruby went beet red in about a quarter of a second, followed by Pyrrha, as the older girl countered back, "But you are cuter then I could ever be-"

"NOPE!" Ruby at this point was standing up over Pyrrha and waving her arms. "NOPE, NOPE, NOPE, YOU'RE SUPER PRETTY AND-"

"You're the most beautiful person I've ever had the honour to meet." Pyrrha could feel the heat rising to her cheeks, but she ignored it. "Both inside and out."

Pyrrha's girlfriend was quickly reduced to a blushing mess as her mouth opened and closed. "But… but you… you'r-

"HEY, YOU TWO WANT TO KEEP THE FLIRTING DOWN? SOME OF US DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" Yang's voice stopped the two, as they noticed that their argument had attracted the attentions of, well, everyone else, some distance away near a camp fire.

"Sorry!" Ruby gave Pyrrha perhaps the most serious look she'd ever seen. A glance at Ruby made it clear they would continue their conversation later.

 _Ruby is still the better girlfriend_ , Pyrrha thought as she cuddled up with her rose, as the sun inched downwards.

* * *

AU: I think I covered all the bases with this mini-arc; we have flavours of funny, slightly lewd, and cute.

SO GUESS WHAT, NEW ACCEPTANCE CHAPTER NEXT WEEKEND! AND WRATH! :D Finally! :D

Question for everyone, but which of the three beach chapters was the best and what was the worse? I'm curious to know what everyone thought.

Lastly, next weekend will be the one year anniversary of the story, so I'll have to write something special for it! :P

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	50. Chapter 50

Today was Ruby and Pyrrha's anniversary.

Which meant that they were pulling out all the stops for the day.

Ruby had woken up first, and therefore Pyrrha had been treated to breakfast in bed, even spoon-feeding the older girl. That had been followed by a rather intense amount of cuddling, among other things, before the two finally made their way to Vale.

Nearly every romantic thing that Ruby could think of, had been done; from taking a short hike, to having a picnic in the park, and even taking a dancing class together. In fact, she was more than a little astounded that everything was going as well as it was. Pyrrha had loved it, and Ruby felt joyous pride flare up in her at having managed it so well

All that was left was a fancy dinner - something both of them were quite eager for - that Pyrrha had placed reservations for long in advance, which was still another two hours away, and that left Ruby with the question of what to do.

By instinct, Ruby reached for her scroll –which was difficult by the fact that she was sitting on Pyrrha's lap - only to stop when she felt an unfamiliar object in her pocket, and pulled it out. It was a gift card that Yang had slipped her with some very specific instructions.

"The Doggie store?" Pyrrha read the store name out curiously as she joined Ruby in staring at the mysterious card.

"Oh, uh, Yang gave it to me last night." The gift card was brightly coloured, and showed a happy cartoon dog on one side. "She said that I should take you there, and that we'd have lots of fun."

"Well, we could check it out now. We still have some time until dinner." Pyrrha suggested after a moment. "I'll admit, I'm curious about it… is it a pet store?"

Ruby shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know… maybe? Yang told me that I shouldn't look it up, and just go to the address on the card."

Pyrrha hummed in thought for a moment as she looked at the address. "That's not all that far away from here." A smile stretched at her lips. "I think we should go, there could be bunnies."

That was all the encouragement that Ruby needed, leaning into a quick kiss before jumping up, and pulling Pyrrha to her feet.

* * *

It was only a five minute walk to the store.

The building itself was quite brightly coloured, with an image of a cute dog painted across the front, which looked innocent enough. "I think you're right Pyrrha, though," Ruby's brow furrowed, "I wonder why Yang gave us a gift card for a pet store…"

Pyrrha shrugged helplessly before another smile graced her lips, "I don't know, either, but puppies are never a bad thing." Ruby nodded in energetic agreement, the thought of adorable pets ran through her head, as the two walked through the doors, hand in hand.

Yet, there were no adorable puppies, or for that matter, any animals in view. In fact, the only other living creature was an elderly woman behind a counter. "Well that's disappointing," Ruby mumbled before she wandered through an aisle. While there might not have been any pets in sight, the store definitely sold pet supplies.

There were colourful chew toys in packages throughout the store, plus some very intricate collar, in particular, a very well-crafted red leather one, Ruby felt drawn to. "This is kinda cute, don'tca you think, Pyrrha?"

The redhead in question, picked up the collar, and examined the tag. "I suppose so, but I don't ge-"

"You don't get…?" Ruby asked after her girlfriend had gone silent. "Pyrrha?"

"I-I think perhaps we should leave." Pyrrha stated in a volume barely above a whisper, a panicked quality entering her tone.

"Huh?" Ruby glanced around the store; everything seemed innocent enough. "Why's that?"

Pyrrha robotically set the collar back down on a hook as her cheeks turned a bright red. "I think w-we shouldn't have listened to your sist-"

"Are you finding everything you young ladies need, alright?" The old woman had wandered over. "Just tell me if you have trouble with anything." Quite suddenly she pointed over to an adjacent aisle. "If you are looking for a matching leash, we should have a few in stock."

"We _have_ been meaning to get a longer leash for Zwei…" Ruby tapped her chin in thought. "He's been a pretty good boy and his leash _is_ wearing out…" The woman nodded in an understanding fashion, before Ruby decided to finally voice something she'd been wondering since walking in. "So, uh, do you guys have any puppies? I haven't seen any…"

The woman's eyes narrowed on Ruby for a moment, before her widening in shock, her mouth forming a huge circle. "O-oh my, why yes, we do have some, we just keep them in the back… would you like me to bring some out?"

Thoughts of tons of adorable puppies running towards her filled Ruby's mind as she enthusiastically nodded. "Alright, I'll be but a moment." With that, the older woman turned around and headed into a back room.

"So I guess, you were right Pyrrh-" Ruby's words died in her mouth as she noticed the absolutely mortified look across her girlfriend's face. "Pyrrha?"

"Ruby, this isn't a pet store." Pyrrha mumbled, as she fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. Her normally cheerful emerald eyes now held a thousand yard stare, as they flickered to the ground.

"Then what is it?" Pyrrha slowly bent over to Ruby's ear before murmuring a few words.

"It's a sex store."

"Buh… wha?" It felt like Ruby's eyes were opened to a whole new world, as her cheeks burned bright pink; the things she thought had been very colourful chew toys had a _very_ different use.

 **SLAM**

The sound drew Ruby's attention away from her growing embarrassment. "Sorry for keeping you waiting for so long; we only have one puppy left, they've been selling really well as of late; very popular among couples."

The box was most certainly labeled puppy, but what was inside was most certainly not a puppy. _I've seen Grim less terrifying than this thing_. "Now you are probably thinking that it's a bit big, and that it'll never be comfortable for anyone, that's what everyone thinks, but I'll have you know that it only takes a few minutes and then you can never go back!" The woman added a wink, which made Ruby's stomach contents go in the wrong direction for a moment.

Seeing as Ruby wasn't going to say anything, especially given her want to pull her hood over her head from shame, Pyrrha stepped in. "Well, you see, our friend only gave us a small gift card, I don't think we could afford such a thing, unfortunately…"

"Oh, I see." The clerk nodded sadly. "It is quite pricey." Suddenly she snapped her fingers. "I'll tell you what, since this is your first time, I'll give you a discount… whatever your card can't cover, is on the house."

"T-that's very generous of you, but we wouldn't feel right getting a discount for free, right Ruby?" Pleading emerald eyes sought out Ruby, who nodded in agreement.

"Psch, it's fine." The woman waved the complaint away. "I could still run this store in the black off battery sales, alone, I assure you."

* * *

Pyrrha and Ruby both stared at their 'purchase' that rested next to them on the bed, which had been gift-wrapped no less, with a mixture of embarrassment… and curiosity.

On the one hand, purchasing it meant that they used up their gift card and didn't make the clerk think they were just window shoppers, and they could try and forget about the whole awkward ordeal. On the other hand…

This was _their_ anniversary night, and they had Ruby's dorm to themselves for the whole weekend. It might not be the worst idea to change things up, a sentiment both were tentatively agreeing on.

"A-are you sure about this?" hesitant silver eyes stared at Pyrrha. "It's… it's not like we _have_ to use it."

"We don't have to do it, if you aren't comfortable." Pyrrha seemed relieved at that thought. "We could save it for another time, right?"

"Right, no reason to use it now." Ruby nodded as she pushed it away from them. Yet, both of them couldn't look away.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…I'm-m willing to give it a chance, if you're okay with it?"

Pyrrha shakily nodded her consent, as unsteady hands pulled off the gift wrapping and the package was finally opened. Each second felt torturously slow, as her heart pounded loudly, and Ruby waited with a bated breath.

The device that emerged was… almost Cthulluian horror in appearance, and Ruby felt a moment of terror from thinking that this was something that someone used on themselves. It was only when Pyrrha gently shook Ruby's arm, that made the shorter redhead looked over to her girlfriend.

The title of the of thing that Pyrrha was holding said instruction pamphlet, but it looked big enough to be a book, before she pointed at a line in the preface. Silver eyes slowly read the instruction.

"…what do you mean it needs three people to operate?!"

* * *

AU: HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY EVERYONE! :D

It's been exactly one year since I started _Spoon Equality_ , and so we get an anniversary chapter for the cute redheads! :P

On a more serious note, we'll have not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR updates today! Starting off with _Spoon Equality_ , then _Wrath_ , _Dilation_ and finally _Acceptance_ to round out the day!

That's… that's all I got for now, see you in a few hours for the next update!

For those who only read Spoon Equality, I hope you have a wonderful day and thank you for reading! :D


	51. Chapter 51

Ruby liked to play video games.

It was a simple observation that Pyrrha had made long ago; from fighting games to RPGs to even the occasional racing games.

Perhaps through osmosis, Pyrrha had come to enjoy video games to a certain degree, as well. They were a fun, addictive and engrossing experience, especially when she was playing with Ruby. Many an evening had been spent in the glow of the TV as the two played a co-op game late into the night.

Gaming had even become a part of their nightly contests to figure out who got to be the big spoon for the night – admittedly sometimes Pyrrha was less than… fair when they came to those particular bouts…

Pyrrha had absolutely nothing against video games, nothing whatsoever. Yet…

Coming into team RWBY's dorm room and finding her girlfriend precisely where she'd been eight hours ago was a bit… worrying.

"Have you gotten up at all?" Pyrrha asked with a hint of concern.

"Nope." Ruby's eyes didn't even stray from the screen as she shook her head.

"Well, would you like to take a break and study? We have a test coming up next week…"

"Almost at a checkpoint." Ruby could barely be heard over the sounds of fantasy violence coming from the speakers. "Will do then."

"Oh. Okay." Pyrrha nodded, a slight smile gracing her lips. "I'll just be in the study lounge when you're done."

"M'kay."

* * *

Pyrrha felt a flash of something that could be described as annoyance when she found Ruby still playing a video game.

It was somewhere around the hour mark that Pyrrha realized that Ruby wasn't going to be joining her anytime soon. More perplexing, she hadn't answered her scroll, either. For a moment, the thought that something had happened had gone through Pyrrha's mind, and so she made her way over to the RWBY's room… where Ruby hadn't moved an inch.

"Ruby." Her girlfriend made no movement to acknowledge her. "Ruby."

"Hm?"

"Are you still trying to get to that checkpoint?" _Perhaps she's just stuck?_ Pyrrha knew that feeling well, where she didn't want to stop until she got past the part she was stuck on.

"Huh? Oh, that… nope, I got to that like… a while ago."

"Ah… so you can stop now?"

"I'm almost to the next checkpoint, then I'll stop." Ruby mumbled, much to Pyrrha's chagrin.

"Do you mind if I watch?" Pyrrha asked – _that way, I can gently remind her that she should study… and if that doesn't work, I can bribe her with food – after all, Ruby hadn't left her spot for a while, she must be getting hungry…_

"Sure." Ruby scooched over, making room for Pyrrha to sit next to her on the bed.

What Pyrrha had not planned on, however, was getting engrossed in watching Ruby go through wave after wave of demons with a weapon that looked more like a slab of metal than anything as elegant as a sword or the character's arm cannon. Little 'Ooo's and 'Ah's as more than a few times, it looked like Ruby was about to see a game over screen, only to pull through in the end. The sight was mesmerizing as Ruby's character cut through the hordes before finally making it to a cut scene.

"Okay, I think I can stop now." Ruby set down the controller and stretched out, her poor muscles clearly needing some movement after so long. "Sorry I took so long, um, do what subject was it again, Pyrrha?"

"Oh, uh, History for Professor Oobleck." If Pyrrha was being honest, she was more curious to see what was going to happen in the cut scene; the test had gone completely out of her thoughts. "But, I suppose we could wait until the next checkpoint…"

Ruby gave Pyrrha a look of incredulity. "Really? But I made you wait for like… a really really long time." That look was replaced by guilt. "I probably played too much today… sorry."

"No, no, it's fine." Pyrrha put her hands up in a placating manner. "We still have a few more days, but it's getting quite late… it might be better if we just start anew tomorrow morning."

The happy expression that Ruby gave Pyrrha justified everything. "Well, want to do co-op?" Long red hair swayed as she nodded, before Ruby got up and handed a wired controller to her.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Ruby resettled this time in Pyrrha's lap, before twisting around to give her a quick kiss, and un-paused… only for to Pyrrha to lean forward to steal a longer, lingering kiss. One which made Ruby reply with an even longer, forceful one, pushing Pyrrha onto her back, the nearly-forgotten controller still in her grip…

…right as wired controller yanked the game system out of the wall, unplugging the power cord, its multicolored interface lighting up with three neon red quarter-rings before going out completely.

"I'm sorry!"

* * *

AU: Poor Pyrrha. In the original, she accidentally semblance'd it to death.

Points to whoever can guess what the game they are playing is :P

Sometimes, I don't have any particular idea in mind for a chapter, I just basically go "what have I done for the past week?" The answer for this was "suffer from humidity (next chapter)" and "Got way too deep into Mass Effect Lore". So we get video games this week!

I forgot to say this last time, as I was kinda stressed about the four updates for last time, BUT, yay we're into the second year of me writing this story! I have some things planned, as some might have already guessed, and I look forward to what everyone will think of these developments :P

I'm glad everyone has stuck with especially this slice-of-life story for essentially a rare-pair (even if it IS my OTP, Pyrrha/Ruby forever!) and I want to thank each and every one of you for that and for putting up with me! :D

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	52. Chapter 52

Ruby was starting to regret her choice of tonight's game.

 _It's not like Pyrrha gave me much of a choice! She keeps cheating when it's a video game or something fast pace!_

Of course, Ruby wasn't altogether that unappreciative of the cheating, especially when it took the form of surprise kisses. But that didn't change the principle of the matter, _Pyrrha keeps getting cheating to be the big spoon!_

To end that particular easy-win streak that Pyrrha had enjoyed for so long, Ruby had devised a plan. A plan so diabolical and ingenious, that it was one hundred percent foolproof. There was no possibility for Pyrrha to clinch an easy win in it by distracting Ruby with kisses. No possible way. Something that'd take a long time to finish, long enough that no one particular distraction could ruin the game.

Which led to one, singular, completely reasonable and unbiased game that would assure fair play; a game that never went too fast.

Naturally, Ruby dug out her old copy of _Monopoly: Atlas Edition_.

"Are you sure about this?" Pyrrha had asked, with more than a little uncertainty. "Doesn't this game take a while to finish?"

"What, afraid you are going to lose?" Ruby retorted with more than a bit of bravado in the face of her girlfriend's waning determination.

"…You're on."

For all intents and purposes, Ruby's plan was working; Pyrrha wasn't able to distract her at all, and the game was going smoothly.

…for the last three hours.

 _I maaay have picked a really long game._ Ruby could concede that particular fact. Since it was just the two of them, as opposed to the usual four or five players, the game was progressing at a snail's pace, even more so.

With no weaker players to pick off, there were no alliances or any cooperation of the kind, which meant the pace was agonizingly slow. So slow, in fact, that Ruby was considering throwing in the towel, so she actually got some sleep for the next day. Yet…

 _I picked the game so Pyrrha couldn't distract me... If I give up now, then all of this will be for nothing!_ Ruby shook her head, trying to dispel the grips of sleep tugging at her as she rolled the dice. _I gotta win!_

Silver eyes groggily blinked as Ruby slid her marker down the board before stopping on a square and handing the dice back to Pyrrha. "Uh, Ruby?"

There was just a hint of smugness in Pyrrha's voice, one that made Ruby suspicious. "Huh?"

"You might want to look where you landed…" Ruby glanced down at the board.

"Jail, again?" The younger redhead grumbled as she moved her piece across the board and into the corner marked 'Jail'.

Pyrrha rolled the dice and moved her token before groaning and handing over rent to Ruby. "Do you think we're actually going to finish tonight?"

"Maybe? …are you thinking of giving up?"

"No, but if this keeps going, I think the winner should get to be the big spoon for the next night." Pyrrha gestured towards a wall clock. "After all, whoever wins tonight won't get much chance to be the big spoon before class starts."

Ruby shrugged. "Makes sens-"

"It's two in the morning, go to sleep already!" Weiss' shrill voice startled them.

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha and Ruby said in unison before looking at each other. "We'll try and keep it dow-"

"No." The light thud of Weiss getting out of bed sounded loud in the rather silent night – punctuated only by Yang's snores – as she stormed over to them. "We have _class_ tomorrow, go to bed. Now."

"But-"

"No, you can figure out who wins tomorrow, I don't care, just go to sleep!"

"We can't until we figure out who won," Ruby weakly protested as Weiss looked like she was just about to kick the board game through the wall.

"Fine." Weiss let out a deep sigh. "Monopoly, right? Just figure out who has more money, and they win."

"I-" Ruby's protest died as Weiss stared at her with an intensity that made her question whether or not the white-haired huntress was trying to light them on fire with her mind. "…actually that makes sense, right Pyrrha?" The tall redhead nodded in mute agreement.

A half of minute counting later, both had tallied up their scores. "Finished?" Weiss asked in perhaps the most exasperated tone Ruby had ever heard as they both nodded. "And…?"

"9,005"

"9,005"

If Ruby wasn't sure that Weiss could murder them with her mind, she'd only be _slightly_ more afraid as her partner pinched the bridge of her nose. "Why do I even bother?"

"That's why we need to keep playi-"

Weiss' pillow slammed into the game board, knocking the pieces in every which way. "Bed. _Now_."

"B-b-but we need to f-figure out who's going to be the big spo-"

"That sounds distinctly like not my problem."

"But-"

"One more word and I'm kicking you out and jamming the door."

The discussion ended there.

* * *

"This isn't right." Pyrrha murmured. "That was a tie."

The two of them were lying in Ruby's bed, facing a quandary: who gets to be the big spoon from a tie?

"I'll… I'll be the little spoon." Ruby offered in between yawns. "It's my fault that I picked such a long game."

"No, no, no." Pyrrha protested. "I agreed to it, so we're both at fault."

"…we could just sleep without cuddling?" The younger redhead suggested after a moment. "That way no one loses."

"I think we'd all lose from that," Pyrrha pointed out. "Unless you are saying you don't want to cuddle with me?" A certain kind of sadness leaking into her voice that tugged at Ruby's heartstrings.

"No, I don't mean that at all Pyrrha!" Ruby shook her head. "I just thought it'd be fair-"

The scream of frustration was the only clue for what was to come as Ruby felt the collar of her shirt being yanked, as she found herself, along with Pyrrha being pulled out of the bed and thrown out the door. By the time Ruby had gotten her bearings, a pair of very icy and angry eyes were staring at her before slamming the door close.

"…rock, paper, scissors?"

* * *

AU: It occurred to me; What if no one actually won?

Naturally Monopoly was the thought that prompted this, though, I was thinking about using Twilight Imperium… except I imagine most people would be unfamiliar with that particular game.

…actually, I could do a chapter of that, if anyone wants it?

Anywho, onto more serious topics.

I've been slacking in Dilation as of late because my schedule has changed drastically as well as being stumped on Acceptance for the moment. Progress is happening for it, but it's deathly slow. I'll try and get a Dilation chapter out at some point!

Also I've been feeling just horribly sick as of late. That's another thing.

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D

* * *

Omake: Twilight Imperium Edition

"I win!" Ruby did a triumphant fist pump as Pyrrha finally conceded the match.

"…I guess you did, I'm going to be the little spoon tonigh-… why is it light outside?"

"The better question is why did you keep playing for the past _two days_." Weiss deadpanned.


	53. Chapter 53

"Ruby, we need to talk."

It wasn't often that Ruby heard her girlfriend's serious tone. In fact, she could probably count the number of times that Pyrrha had raised her voice on one hand for the entirety that the two knew each other.

So when Ruby turned away from her video game, and saw the deadly serious emerald eyes, she didn't just pause her game – she turned off the console. "S-sure Pyrrha, what's up?"

Pyrrha let out a sigh, looking away from Ruby – and giving her a moment to realize just how empty the team RWBY dorm was; the only other living soul in the room was Zwei napping on Weiss' bed. In that instant, the team leader just realized how truly alone she was… alone with a very, _very_ serious Pyrrha. "I've been thinking about this for a long while… like a very long time, Ruby." Silver eyes frantically studied the tall redhead as she continued. "It's something I can't ignore anymore."

"You're scaring me…" _Where is this going?_ Ruby had not the faintest of ideas – not for a lack of trying as her brain ran through countless scenarios, each one more concerning then the last, Ruby's thoughts ran amok, as Pyrrha let out an almost pained sigh. "Did I do something wrong?"

Long crimson hair swished as Pyrrha solemnly shook her head before stopping. "Perhaps? It's hard to say." For some reason it was getting hard to breathe for Ruby. "It's kept me up late at night thinking about it, agonizing over it."

Pyrrha scooched closer to Ruby, her hands gently clasping around her own, emerald eyes locking on to silver ones. "You need to get a better bed."

"Pyrrhaaaa, we talked about this!"

"I know, I know." Pyrrha shifted uncomfortably. "But I still think that it's rather… dangerous."

"Pyrrha, I've had it, for like, ever." Ruby deadpanned. "It hasn't fallen yet, and it's still holding up pretty good!" She gestured towards the bunk bed which was currently hovering above the snoozing corgi by only a few lengths of rope. "If it wasn't safe, Zwei wouldn't be sleeping under it… or Weiss, really."

"That's precisely it! What if the bed fell on him, or Oum forbid, on Weiss?" Ruby was entirely unconvinced. "I'm fairly certain that Weiss has prepared a glyph in case your bed _does_ fall on her-"

"See, she'd be fine!" Ruby threw her arms up in exasperation at her girlfriend's stubbornness on such a minor thing, _I thought we had this conversation already, like a few months ago!_

"But you'll still get knocked around, and that could hurt." Pyrrha's lips had affixed into an almost permanent frown. "It makes me worry, a lot at night."

"We have aura, it's not like that would actually hurt all that much…" Ruby mumbled under the unflinching gaze from her girlfriend, cowed slightly by the sweet sentiment.

"All I'm saying is that, maybe now would be a better time to think about getting a proper bunk bed, instead of after it falls on Weiss," Pyrrha gently suggested. "I know everyone will chip in to help, and I will too-"

"Wait one second!" Ruby jumped to her feet and pointed an accusatory finger at Pyrrha. "Did you already talk to everyone about this?!"

Pyrrha's gaze anchored to the floor, as she slouched forward ever so slightly. "I may have talked to your teammates once or twice about it…"

"You went behind my back." Ruby felt genuinely hurt at the lack of trust – something that never happened between them. Something that she thought Pyrrha was better than doing. "I don't ever do that to you. Never. Even when it'd be really, really easy. I trust you."

"I'm sorry! I just worry about something happening, like a rope breaks and you get hurt and it's only been getting more and more unstable… I'm sorry." Pyrrha pitifully hung her head in shame, the normally composed huntress fidgeting with the hem of her skirt, clearly not knowing what else to say or do. It was a sight that Ruby had seldom seen: Pyrrha was helpless.

Seeing the all-star student, the Invincible Girl, the person that Ruby had given her heart to, helplessly flounder because of something that she said finally did what Pyrrha's words couldn't achieve.

Ruby cracked.

"I-I didn't mean to say… um…" Words were not Ruby's friend as she struggled with them.

That helplessness had eroded ever so slightly as Pyrrha looked up, with wide emerald eyes, clearly hanging on to every word that Ruby said. "I didn't mean to say that I didn't think you trust me, uh…"

"I know I shouldn't have gone around you're back, that was wrong of me." Pyrrha guiltily admitted. "I was just hoping that you'd be a bit more… receptive to change if the other were too, I'm really sorry."

"I-I suppose it's a bit unsteady…" Ruby finally conceded. "I guess we could reinforce the supports… would that work?"

"Yeah." Pyrrha nodded quickly, her frown inverting into a smile. "If you're okay with that?"

"Yup."

"Did… did we just have our first fight?" Pyrrha hesitantly asked after a few moments.

"Maybe?" Ruby scratched her head in thought. "Is that what it was?" Pyrrha shrugged. "Can we never do that again?"

Instead of answering immediately, Pyrrha scooped Ruby up into a tight hug and a deep kiss.

"Never again it is." Ruby could feel Pyrrha nod in the embrace. "I love you."

"I love you more," Pyrrha murmured after a moment, muffled by Ruby's neck.

"Nu-uh, I love you even more!" Ruby insisted without missing a beat.

"Didn't we just agree we weren't going to fight again?"

* * *

"There!"

Ruby, Pyrrha and Zwei surveyed the combined handiwork of the two girlfriends with a mixture of pride and tiredness.

Not only had the two of them taken Ruby's bed off its current supports to replace the heavily used rope with a new one, but they had made wall mounts for the bed to further anchor it in place.

"Phew, now do you feel less worried?" The shake that Pyrrha gave Ruby only led to confusion which was only furthered when Pyrrha clambered up onto it. "What are you doing up the-eep!" Ruby was cut off as Pyrrha pulled her up to the lofted bed.

"We still need to test it~" Pyrrha had an almost sickening grin on her lips as she gently pushed Ruby down, straddling the smaller woman. "Once we test it, I'll be happy."

"Wait, did you only bring this up so we could make out on it?" The lack of denial was most damning. "Pyrrhaaaa-ahh~" The kisses traveling up Ruby's neck quickly silenced her protests, as Pyrrha pinned her hands to the sheets. "N-not that I-I'm complaining or anything-"

Unfortunately for involved, that was the exact moment that the new supports decided to give out. Ruby's bed came crashing down, pulling the two startled redheads with it.

"…so how much did you say you would be willing to help me out with buying a new bed…?"

* * *

AU: So I was trying to figure out where or not to break before the final scene, and end the chapter there or add more. Originally the last scene was added as an omake before I made it part of the chapter proper.

I'm very much on the fence about that, which is something I want to quickly talk about.

Basically, I'm worried if it was a bit formulaic, because the moment that things started to happen, you, the read KNEW where it was going to go, right? Namely, that they would get interrupted the moment intimate things began… Is that a bad thing or a good thing? Do you guys and gals dislike or like that?

I'd really, REALLY like to know, if that's okay?

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	54. Chapter 54

Pyrrha liked to think she was a good person.

For all intents and purposes, no one would ever, _ever_ say she wasn't. She helped anyone in need without question, generous didn't even begin to describe how charitable she was, nor how selfless she could be.

In some ways, Pyrrha had decided to become a huntress for a similar reason to Ruby's - to help the people who inhabited it, to save them. Perhaps that was one of the many, many things that had only made it easier for the two to get closer: a similar world view.

It certainly didn't hurt that they had the same interests, albeit a few of them Ruby had to introduce to her first. One such of these interests was anime – something they were about to partake in, themselves, as Ruby happily hummed while going about and collecting as many blankets as she could.

While the hobby was something that Ruby had grown up with, Pyrrha was only truly introduced to it through Ruby. Now at least once every few weeks, the two would have just a full day of marathoning – wrapped in a pile of blankets, cuddled together, as they watched the flashing screen.

It was an activity that Pyrrha immensely enjoyed, especially when the story was excellent – which was never a guarantee. There was just one, singular rule to this. Just one.

They always watched the anime together.

The logic behind it was equally simple; _that way we don't accidentally spoil each other, and neither of us has to rewatch something._

By all rights, the system worked well. Even if an episode ended on a cliffhanger, and Pyrrha did somehow find some time in her day where she had nothing to do, she _always_ waited until Ruby was around to pick up from where they left off. _Not that I usually have to wait all that long…_ more times than not, it was usually Ruby waiting around for Pyrrha to be free… not the other way around.

Yet…

The last time they had marathoned, Ruby might have fallen asleep in Pyrrha's arms early into the night, and Pyrrha might have possibly let the auto play start the next episode when the current one ended. And again. And again. At least five _more_ times.

 _Technically Ruby was here, so it's not like I broke the rule, completely. I definitely wasn't watching without Ruby, she was even facing the screen… just her eyes happened to be closed the entire time._ Technicalities aside, Pyrrha had most certainly violated the spirit of the rule, something even she, herself could concede as she went about getting snacks for the upcoming couch potatoing.

Naturally, Pyrrha had come up with a solution to solve the inherent issue - the problem that had been looming over her since the she had committed the act: _I just need to pretend as if I never saw it._

Which worked in practice up until the point at which Ruby started asking her what she thought was going to happen next, forcing Pyrrha to mumble out something on the spot. The guilt from the act only rose.

By the time that they got around to their next marathon, the guilt was starting to consume Pyrrha. _I shouldn't have done it, and I can't tell Ruby… I just need to act natural when we see it_. Yet the tall redhead knew that was never going to happen, not with all the plot twists and character deaths that were awaiting them in the next few episodes. Thoughts of having to lie through her teeth about her reactions started to fill her head, as she plopped down next to her girlfriend, while said girlfriend snaked an arm around her, pulling her in close. _I… I can't lie to Ruby._

Long red hair swished as she shook her head. _No, but then I'll have broken Ruby's trust if I don't… but if I don't tell her, she'll never know._ That was the most logical solution, except… _I'll know._ Pyrrha's guilt started to become unbearable as Ruby clicked on the episode. In just seconds they were going to start watching, yet Pyrrha couldn't let it pass. _I have to tell her._

"Ruby." Pyrrha's voice pulled the silver eyed girl's attention to her, right as her finger hovered over the start button. "There is something I need to tell you."

"O-Oh, um, so do I…" Pyrrha's fidgeting ceased, as her own worries were forgotten.

"Do you want to go first? Mine is rather… trivial." Her voice tried to stay neutral, even as she started to try and guess what Ruby could possibly have to say.

"So is mine." Ruby awkwardly scooched out of their blanket cocoon. "We could say it at the same time?"

"Sure. On three?"

Ruby nodded. "One, two, three!"

"I may have- "

"-skipped ahead, forgive me!"

Emerald and silver eyes widened in surprise, as Pyrrha's mouth gaped open. "You too?"

"Uh-huh." Ruby guiltily gazed down at the floor. "You sort of fell asleep last time, and I didn't stop it from playing… I'm sorry…"

"Wait you were awake?" Ruby slowly nodded. "I thought you were asleep, and kept watching…"

"Oh."

"…"

"…were you worried the whole week, too?"

"Yuuup."

Pyrrha pinched the bridge of her nose, before letting out a sigh – not an exasperated one but one of relief, as a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "I guess we're even?"

"I think so…?"

"…"

"…want to watch it anyways?"

"That sounds like a grand idea!"

* * *

AU: These are cute dorks.

As you can probably tell, this comes from a real life thing – my friend who used to show me a lot of anime had this rule. I became a bigger anime nut (or rather, watched more shows that have come out recently) and I got to enact this rule on him when I showed him RE:Zero. Good times. Dude showed his housemate but couldn't go past where I got him to because he was bound by the code.

(I may have also considered a Return by death omake but then got sad because what that entails D: )

Anywho, I thought this was cute? Yes? Maybe? I know quality with this one was a bit of an issue, Gorsouul took some offense when it came to the heavy exposition, a point I agreed with to a certain degree. In the end was it funny? Or did it feel too dry?

I could ramble on for ages about stuff at the moment (namely playing the Enderal mod for Skyrim AND OH BOY IS IT GOOOOOD!), but I think I'll end there before I get too crazy about it.

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	55. Chapter 55

"You ever wonder if studying actually matters?"

Pyrrha looked up from the pile of notes she'd been pouring through, to find Ruby resting her head on the table – clearly bored to near death. "Well, studies do show that it helps improve test scores, which we need so we can pass and be a certified huntress… so I suppose so. Why do you ask?"

Ruby made an undignified noise, half-whimper, half-groan before picking herself up. "It shouldn't matter as long as we can kick Grimm butt and save people, right? I don't need to know the intricacies of, um… uh…" She rose enough off the table to pull out the thick textbook she'd been using as a pillow, "...some bill that nearly got passed like two hundred years ago in Vacuo but didn't." Silver eyes flickered to Pyrrha. "…about the standard sizes of a brick."

"Well…" Try as she might, Pyrrha couldn't come up with a single way that particular tidbit of knowledge would be useful outside of Doctor Oobleck's class. "…it might be on the exam?"

"Bleh." Ruby sank back down onto the book. "I still don't know how that would help us save people, unless they were being attacked by, like, flying standardized bricks or something…"

"But if you don't study, then you might not do so well in the class, and you could get held back," Pyrrha gently suggested. "Plus, if you study, Weiss won't have anything to remind you about." The comment merely provoked a small grunt from Ruby. "…please…?"

That did the trick, as Ruby pushed herself upright, and gave out a very, very long sigh. "Fineee… I'll do it."

While Ruby looked like she was as unhappy as could be, Pyrrha on the other hand felt a small smile tug at her lips. If she was being completely honest, sometimes Ruby… _struggled_ , with her academics. She'd certainly jumped two years ahead, but not due to her grades but her martial prowess.

To a certain degree, Pyrrha always worried about Ruby in that regard. It was difficult enough trying to bridge two years' worth of skipped schooling on top of whatever Beacon academy offered. For the most part, Ruby had done well. In fact, she'd done extremely well, all things considered. There was a constant struggle in Pyrrha for trying to make sure her girlfriend did well in class… and for not being a stick in the mud.

 _I'll make cookies after this as a reward._ Pyrrha happily nodded to herself, already looking forward to the way Ruby's face always lit up when freshly baked goods were mentioned.

"What do you think would happen if we gave Nora, like… fifty pixie sticks?"

Emerald eyes widened in horror, as she shook her head. "I… I don't want to know." Crimson hair swished as she turned to Ruby. "Please, please don't do that."

"It can't be any worse than the time that I made her coffee."

"…I'm fairly certain 'going into a caffeine coma' is hard to top, Ruby."

"That's still all on Ren."

"I… you…" Words were failing Pyrrha. "I'm just glad she's okay."

"Yeah."

With nothing much left to say, Pyrrha turned back to her textbook.

 _This is a little dull._ Pyrrha had to suppress a sigh from escaping her own lips as she turned the page. _I know there is a reason to why we have to study this, to learn from past mistakes, as Doctor Oobleck would say, but it isn't the most engaging material to be honest._

"Who do you think would win in a fight, a pirate or a ninja?"

"Buh-wha?" Pyrrha blinked in surprise. "I-I guess a ninja?" Emerald eyes glanced down at what Ruby was reading, the textbook definitely containing neither of those things.

"Same, ninjas are pretty stealthy and cool!"

"Ruby, you're deathly bored, aren't you?"

"Pretty much, yup."

The elder redhead frowned for a moment. "Well, whenever we finish, I'll make cookies… will that help?"

"Hmm." Ruby's face lit up for a brief moment, before going back to normal. "Nope~"

"You don't want cookies…?" It felt like a gear in Pyrrha's brain had stopped turning, _Ruby always loves cookies!_

Evidently Ruby immediately regretted what she said, as she panicked, "No, I mean yes, but something else too!"

"Oh… okay, what?"

"Could you maybe-sorta-kinda, sit on my lap?" Ruby asked in the most innocent tone she could muster, complete with puppy-dog eyes.

"…as much as I want, I don't think you'd be able to see anything, much less study," Pyrrha pointed out after a moment. "Perhaps you could sit on my lap?"

"Could we still try it? Pleaseeee?"

Pyrrha had a hard time saying 'no' to Ruby normally, let alone like this. She got up from her seat, eliciting an excited 'yay!' from her girlfriend before slowly sitting down on the much, _much_ smaller girl. It was as if a giant had sat down, comparatively, with Ruby's head only coming up to Pyrrha's mid-back.

Ruby said something, completely muffled by Pyrrha's back, causing the larger girl to get up immediately. "…you were right, I couldn't see anything…" If Pyrrha had less self-control, she would have said ' _I told you so_ ', but kept it to herself.

"You could sit on my lap, that way we both could see and be comfortable," _and I won't squish you_ , Pyrrha gently suggested again, keeping the last part unvoiced.

Ruby's eyes narrowed, and she acted as if she was contemplating it with a seriousness that only rivaled when she tinkered with Crescent Rose. "On one condition."

"Name it."

"The cookies have to be triple chocolate chip."

"Deal."

* * *

AU: Just a cute chapter this time, nothing particularly special.

Sometimes I worry that chapters like this aren't too well liked because nothing is raising the bar or what not, but on the other hand, it's quite fun to write little fluff nuggets like this.

 _Acceptance_ is finally, ponderously, moving into the editing stages. Sorry about that. In other news, I'm debating about doing another MonCon, so you might want to keep your eyes peeled this month for that!

Lastly, any particular wants or suggestions for a Halloween chapter this time around? (I totally have an entirely forgotten and half completed Halloween chapter somewhere that I meant to do last year and failed miserably at… very slothful, I know.)

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	56. Chapter 56

Pyrrha found herself question the wisdom of her other half.

On the one hand, Ruby looked really excited about where they were going – and by extension, the rest of their friends.

 _I don't want to break something that's tradition_ , plus Pyrrha could already see the pouting lip, the sad twinkle in her silver eyes if they didn't go. However, that did little to counter the… misgivings that the tall redhead had. Yet she didn't stop her from letting Ruby lead her by the hand towards their waiting friends.

Pyrrha Nikos is many things; winner of tournaments, a cereal mascot, teammate, a trusted friend to many, and even a girlfriend to a particularly cute cloaked team leader... But a fan of being scared on purpose was something she most definitely wasn't.

No one ever suspected that, especially given her six foot tall, heavily muscled frame, the redhead staring down monsters the size of buildings without flinching on a daily basis, yet… There was something weird about wanting to get scared on purpose to her. _Fear is a survival mechanism, it tells you when to run away or when something is amiss… so why would anyone want to do this on purpose?_

It went without saying that horror movies were not something that Pyrrha ever watched willingly, nor, by any leap in logic was the trip to the haunted house something that she wanted to do. Her personal beliefs did _not_ change the group consensus to go get scared on a mid-October weekend.

 _I'll just stick close to Ruby, and close my eyes and it'll all be over in a few minutes_. The thought brought a small smile to her face. _That should work._

In short order, a disturbingly short amount of time in Pyrrha's mind, the group found themselves forming into smaller groups of four to head into the attraction – a huge barn with some walls set up inside, to no doubt simulate some eldritch horror.

"I call dibs on going first!"

"I call second dibs!"

Yang and Nora high-fived each other, as Blake raised her hand. "I suppose I'll go as well."

Relief flooded into Pyrrha, _I'm not going without Ruby,_ which was a given considering she wasn't planning on letting go of Ruby's hand anytime soon, _so we'll go in the second group_. While it only prolonged the inevitable, Pyrrha didn't care.

"Well, I'm not going."

All eyes turned to Weiss. "Wait, then why did you come along?" Nora asked incredulously.

"Because someone," Weiss shot a very, VERY dirty look at Ruby, who merely smiled innocently back, "said that if I didn't, I was being, and I quote 'a stick in the mud,' which I'm not."

"But you are if you don't go." Nora pointed out, without missing a beat before giving a great big gasp and closing the distance between the two. "Are you a scaredy-cat?"

"I beg your pardon but I don't get scared _that_ easily." The white-haired teen huffed.

The slightly shorter teen poked Weiss menacingly on the chest. "Oh yeah, well prove it!"

Weiss' mouth opened before clenching into a determined grimace. A second later, she grabbed Nora by the arm and angrily stalked into the open hallway, yanking the confused girl with her. "Watch me!"

Yang shrugged before following in after them, Blake close by.

"I suppose that just leaves us…?" Ruby said to Jaune, Ren and Pyrrha, who murmured some amount of agreement. "Right, well let the waiting begin."

* * *

It wasn't until a good ten, almost fifteen minutes later that Yang, Blake, Nora and Weiss emerged from the exit.

Neither Yang, nor Nora or even Blake looked especially frightened, _maybe it won't be that scary, after all?_ However…

Weiss was clinging to the same arm of Nora's that she had dragged her by; both of her slim arms wrapped tightly around Nora's muscles limb, as she kept glancing around warily, as if she didn't quite believe that something wasn't going to jump out at her at any given second.

"Weissy _is_ a scaredy-cat." There was a smugness to Nora's voice that on any other day Weiss would have clearly disagreed with… yet, not a peep came from her, much to Pyrrha's surprise. Instead she only pressed herself tighter against Nora. "Um, Weiss?"

 _It broke Weiss_. Pyrrha felt fear starting to return, _Weiss didn't seem all that scared going in, and it got to her… I'm already scared, this isn't go-_

"Next." The guy running the attraction ushered in the second group, seeing as the haunted house was now empty, cutting off whatever train of thought Pyrrha had.

The first thing that Pyrrha noticed, was that the hallway they entered was almost pitch black, her eyes slowly adjusting to the dim light after the door behind the slammed shut. Her hand tightened its grip on Ruby's, almost painfully so. The old wooden floor, and peeling wallpaper reminded her of some decaying, rotting house from a bygone era – every step making the floorboards creak with stress.

Ruby led the way, pulling the reluctant redhead along with her. _They are just trying to scare us, it's not real, none of this is real_. That thought provided little comfort as they walked into the first room, some sort of bedroom with a body hanging from a noose, as strobe lights flickered, and a creepy skeleton started to edge closer, and closer-

 _Nope, I'm not doing this_. Pyrrha squeezed her eyes shut, letting her girlfriend blindly lead her into the next room. _If I keep my eyes closed, I can't see anything that will scare me and I'll be fine. Perfectly fin-_ Pyrrha bumped into something. Something that wasn't solid like a wall or furniture. Something wet. Reflexively, emerald eyes opened…

…and was greeted by some kind of bloody, all too realistic clown mask inches away from her face, freezing Pyrrha in place, before melting back into the shadows.

"Pyrrha?" Ruby's concerned voice called out, most likely because her girlfriend had just stopped moving, her hand clamped around her own. "You okay?"

"Can… can we go back?" Pyrrha's voice felt small, like a small child scared of monsters under their bed. "I-I don't wanna be here anymore."

"Um, we can't go back…" Ruby gestured to the way that they presumably came – not that Pyrrha had her eyes open when they came through – where a door without a knob was closed.

"O-Oh." Pyrrha fearfully looked around. "Where'd Jaune and Ren go?"

"I think they went on ahead?" Ruby scratched her head before refocusing on Pyrrha. "Are you going to be okay?"

Pyrrha lamely shook her head. "I'm sorry…"

"It's okay, Pyrrha!" Ruby grabbed her shaking hand in both of her own, clearly trying to calm Pyrrha down. "We'll find one of the emergency exits, and then we'll be out, okay?"

On one hand, that sounded like the greatest idea that Pyrrha had heard all night… on the other hand… _Ruby has been looking forward to this all week; I'm not going to make her leave early._ Taking a deep breath in and letting it out, Pyrrha tried to put on a brave face. "I-I could try and make it through to the end."

"You don't have to if you don't want to, that'd be cruel." Ruby shook her head. "Are you sure, Pyrrha?" Silver eyes stared imploringly into emerald ones.

"I can try."

"Well, okay." A small smile spread across Ruby's lips. "But just tell me if it gets too much, okay?"

"Of course."

With that settled, Pyrrha steeled herself for whatever fresh horrors awaited them in the next room of the attraction, whatever grisly ritual site might be there, or-

A cold, clammy hand grabbed at Pyrrha's left leg.

In an instant, Pyrrha let out a shriek before she jumped away into the only safe place she knew: Ruby's arms. "P-Pyrrha-!" Within a few more moments, the two toppled over.

As Pyrrha shook the stars out of her vision, she noticed whatever grabbed her had started to amble closer to her, a sinister clown mask crawling into view from the darkness. Its eyes glowing red, a long, wicked dagger with some red substance dripping wetly off of it in huge dollops, splattering against the creaky floor.

This time, however, Pyrrha's reaction wasn't to hide, no, rather in that moment, she acted. For a normal individual, that would have been to scramble up and run away from the horror. Unfortunately, Pyrrha's reflexes erred more on the 'fight' side instead of 'flight'.

The end result of which, was Pyrrha 'Invincible Girl' Nikos punching a high-schooler wearing a clown mask through a wall. That in turn knocked over the haunted house' prefabricated walls, and letting light bleed through the inky blackness.

"I'm sorry!"

* * *

AU: Not gonna lie, the first haunted house I went into, I did that... the bit about punching a dude, not jumping into Ruby's arms. Not my finest hour...

So I actually succeeded in doing a Halloween chapter this year (I kept failing last year), there should be another one in a few weeks, however.

 _Acceptance_ is FINALLY entering the editing process, with me significantly happier with the result now. So that's my update on that.

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	57. Chapter 57

"Are you sure that Zwei doesn't need a leash?"

"Pfft, he'll be fine!" Ruby waved Pyrrha's worrying away. "He's taken down an Atlesian Paladin before, I'm pretty sure nothing could hurt him here."

While that may have assuaged one of Pyrrha's worries, it was only one as she watched Zwei waddle away from them. "But what if he goes after something and we can't catch up?"

"…Pyrrha, please." Pyrrha's girlfriend disappeared into a cloud of rose petals before reappearing carrying a corgi.

"Oh. Right." Pyrrha felt silly as Zwei jumped out of Ruby's arms and started to chase after some butterflies while she walked hand in hand with her girlfriend.

The leaves had started to change colour with the coming of autumn, and the temperature was beginning to drop. Therefore, Pyrrha and Ruby had started to try and spend as much time outside as possible before it became too cold and snowy outside, time and weather permitting of course. Hence why they were on a date in a city park.

It was a nice, quiet sort of date. No expectations or the like, just the two spending time together, watching leaves of different shades twirl in the wind while Zwei occasionally chased after them. The kind of moment that Pyrrha wished would stretch on forever. No interruptions – just Ruby and herself enjoying the day.

Pyrrha couldn't help but to give Ruby's hand a gentle squeeze before tearing her gaze away from Zwei's attempts to chase the blowing leaves, only for silver eyes to suddenly avert themselves from emerald ones, a rather large blush across Ruby's cheeks. A blush that brought a smile to her lips.

With the coming weather, came a change of apparel, especially for Pyrrha who didn't do particularly well with the cold, hence the sweater she was wearing. Admittedly she wasn't wearing it for warmth, especially if the long, sleeveless turtleneck was anything to go by. Or the thigh-highs.

If Pyrrha was just being a tiny-bit truthful, she had been hoping to make Ruby as flustered as she was – _after all, I want to make my rose red_. It wasn't for any special occasion or anything. Simply put, it made Ruby happy, and ergo Pyrrha did it. Consequently, Pyrrha was more than happy to let Ruby ogle all she wanted…

…except Ruby was doing her best to stare away from her at the present, making Pyrrha pout for a moment as they walked…

…before a plan started to form in her head.

* * *

Eventually they both decided to find a tree to sit against - even huntresses-in-training got tired at some point. At the present, Ruby's was using Pyrrha's lap as pillow, leaving the two redheads in content silence. Realizing that they were alone in all directions and secluded by the huge tree, Pyrrha started to move.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Pyrrha stretched out, her neck craning backwards as her chest pushed forward. With all the subtly that came from years of training, Pyrrha's eyes looked down. By the time they reached their intended target, Ruby was most pointedly not looking at her, instead staring somewhere in front of her. If Pyrrha didn't know better, she'd of thought Ruby wouldn't have even noticed at all… if it hadn't been for the fact that she'd _felt_ her girlfriend's head shift in her lap.

Yet Pyrrha was not deterred in the slightest, _after all, I am the Invincible Girl – I_ always _win in the end_. This merely meant more _drastic_ measures were called for.

Glancing around, once more to make sure there was no one around, and with her heart starting to pound, she started the next step. With deft fingers, Pyrrha unbuttoned the first two buttons on the turtleneck, before stretching out again. It wasn't even a quarter of a second later that she felt Ruby shift in her lap, as Pyrrha let a smug smile spread across her lips.

Looking back down at her rose, she was met with disappointment as Ruby shifted back in the last second, albeit with a few rose petals now joining the autumn leaves on the ground.

At some point this had gone from a fun endeavour to a matter of principle, hence Pyrrha pulled out the big guns.

This time, as Pyrrha stretched, instead of stretching up with her arms, they went sideways, her elbows pressing against the tree, causing the fabric to tighten across her chest and highlighting her… assets. Which was why when she looked down, Ruby had shifted back, but was rather transfixed. It was little surprise to Pyrrha - when silver eyes met emerald ones - that Ruby stiffened, as if she had been caught stealing from the cookie jar.

"Someone seems to be staring at me." It wasn't often that Pyrrha acted all that assertive out in public, only under very specific conditions. Such as now.

"I… uh…"

"Now _normally_ someone who stares too long is going to find out how sharp Milo is… but I _suppose_ I could make an exception. Just for _you_. Of course, if you want, you can always do more than _just_ stare…"

Ruby's answer came in the form of hot, wet lips urgently pressing against Pyrrha's own. Pyrrha went from the person in control to the one being controlled as Ruby straddled her surprisingly quickly. While Pyrrha might have been the one to instigate this, she was more than happy to let the warm bundle of energy take the lead, her rose's scent becoming overwhelming and giving her some much need warmth – sleeveless turtleneck wasn't exactly warm, after all.

In the secluded part of the park, in the shadows of a huge tree, time melted away for the two – certainly for Pyrrha. Even the want for oxygen merely meant that someone started leaving marks on the other's neck. Pyrrha's hands slowly drifted down Ruby's back before coming to a rest on her girlfriend's hips. That only lasted a short while before starting to inch further downward, beneath the waistband-

"Wait." Ruby pulled away from Pyrrha, giving both of them a moment to catch their breath. "What about Zwei? We can't just leave him-nngh" A particularly happy sound came out of Ruby's mouth as Pyrrha leaned forward and gently bit her neck.

"He'll be fine… it's just like you said; he can take care of himself." Ruby numbly nodded before leaning forward, eager to give affection to her champion.

Truly, Pyrrha wished days like this never ended.

* * *

Now, dear reader, you are probably thinking to yourself "Wait, shouldn't Zwei interrupt them like that asshat Jefardi always does?" Well then, the answer may surprise you…

* * *

Zwei skipped around happily, to the average viewer just appearing to do normal dog-like activities; such as chase butterflies. What they didn't know, was that Zwei was on a mission.

That mission?

Make sure nothing interrupted master and her mate.

Which wasn't an easy task. Whenever the two of them were alone together, disaster struck or someone walked in on them, which is exactly what he was here to prevent.

His fluffy ears perked up as the familiar sounds of stilts clicking on the concrete path approached. Running to the nearest bush he could find, he poked his head out to see the cat-girl slowly strolling forward, nose-deep in a book. Walking aimlessly as she was, there was no doubt she was the first perpetuator to fend off.

Putting on his biggest happy-dog face, Zwei sprung from the bushes, letting out excited yelps, seemingly begging for attention from the faunus girl.

"Zwei!" The poor girl yelped in surprise, turning around to flee in the opposite direction.

Mission accomplished, Zwei wagged his tail proudly.

He didn't have a chance to congratulate himself for more than a second as he saw the familiar trademark sideways ponytail of master's white-themed partner coming down the path next. Thinking fast, Zwei snuck back to master as quietly as he could, snagging her scroll and running back around a tree, just out of sight from the white-haired girl.

Navigating the scroll with practiced precision, using only his nose, Zwei pulled up a video Ruby had recorded one time. "Hey there, Weiss!" The sound of the blonde boy came from the speaker.

As predicted, the approaching girl froze, blue eyes widening in fear as she recognized that voice. "Oh no, not today!" Before anything further on the video could play, she activated her semblance, glyph forming beneath her and taking off running faster than a blur.

"I was just uh- wondering- if you know-" The video kept playing of one of the boy's many failed confessions.

"Zwei? Is that Ruby's scroll?" The dog's wagging tail sunk immediately, turning to face his other master. The blonde girl was bending over, looking down with one eyebrow cocked skeptically. Then she broke into a huge grin. "Good boy," She reached down and began rubbing him affectionately under the chin. "I bet my baby sister dropped it and didn't even realize it, clutsy as she is."

Zwei's tailed wagged, but not the reasons Yang likely thought. "Alright then, we better find her and bring it back to her." Uh oh. If Yang started looking for Ruby now, it was all over.

Thinking fast, Zwei grabbed the scroll in his mouth and gave a full three-hundred and sixty degree spin before lodging that scroll halfway across the park. "Zwei, no!" Yang yelled, helpless to do anything but watch it go. "We're not playing fetch with it." She sighed in exasperation and began to jog after the device.

All in all, a job well done. If Zwei said so himself.

* * *

AU: Hey look, no interruptions this time! :P

So that was a thing. This chapter is born out of several different things happening. From the start, Zwei was supposed to be a red herring that everyone thought would interrupt Pyrrha and Ruby's time in the end. I happened to be talking to Super Saiyan Cyndaquil when I finished scene two and mentioned how it was a double layer bait and switch before he suggested Zwei should make it go without interruptions on a non-passive level.

He wrote a better version of it than me (and longer), hence why I give a big thanks to him for all of the last scene! :D

Other things; I've never written characters really flirting before. Like overtly. So I decided to try it here, albeit Pyrrha is modest so it probably doesn't work as well as it should, but oh well.

Last two things;

Sorry about not doing a chapter during the weekend, this is me catching up. I was writing my entry to MonCon, which is also sort of a side story to _Spoon Equality_ itself! You should check it out, it's called _The Ice Queen and the Viking_!

There should be a chapter this Saturday as per usual!

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D

P.S: Much thanks for Liara_Pvo's help for certain bits!


	58. Chapter 58

Ruby was trying to stay awake.

She really was.

The key word being 'trying', as her head slumped forward once more, barely touching the desk before she righted herself.

A night of trick or treating had ended with Ruby gaining a considerable pile of candy – albeit dwarfed by Nora's own pile, which Ruby was certain was heavier than herself – and she had eaten at least a pound or two of it last night.

Consequently, the resulting stomachache meant that the redhead hadn't gotten much in the way of sleep the previous night – not a wink of sleep had been found in her girlfriend's arms, no matter how much she tried. The outcome, of course, was her being extremely tired.

Somehow, she'd been able to power through their morning classes and most of the afternoon classes – mostly through caffeine – but even that seemed to no longer hold any help, as her eyelids drooped. _I should have listened to Pyrrha and just stayed in bed_. Ruby knew that worried emerald eyes were watching her – they had been for the whole day.

Ruby felt Pyrrha's hand jostle her slightly, evidently worried that she was going to fall asleep any moment now, or at least to keep her from smack her head against the tabletop. _Just a few more minutes, and class will be out for the day and then I can finally sleep!_ Yet time seemed to be snail-crawlingly slow, as seconds felt like eons, making Ruby look around if only to keep herself moving.

Weiss was being an excellent student as always and was taking notes, Blake was reading a book hidden under her notebook and Yang… Yang was half-awake herself, yawning as she stared down at the Professor. Pyrrha was the only one trying to keep her awake, for whatever it was worth.

Once more, Ruby started to consider the closest textbook to be an increasingly attractive substitute pillow as she gave out a pained groan. _Seriously, why did I come to class? It's not like I'm going to remember a single thing Port is saying, and I'm pretty sure Pyrrha isn't taking very good notes because she's been trying to keep me awake… This sucks._

What made it even worse was the fact that it was Professor Port's class. The temptation to sleep only grew as Professor Port rambled on and on about some time he wrestled with a Grimm. Especially since he was the only teacher who really didn't seem to notice if any of his students ever payed attention. _How does Weiss even take notes on this?_

 _I'm never eating candy again_ , Ruby decided before realizing it was too harsh. _At least not for another week… I can't do that, Nora will eat it all by then_. _I suppose, I won't eat any more than a handful a day? Yeah that sounds right…_

…

…

Ruby jolted as Pyrrha gently elbowed her in the side. Rubbing her eyes, Ruby looked around. Yang Class was still going on; _when will it ever end?_ She gave out a frustrated groan.

"Just ten more minutes." Pyrrha whispered encouragingly as she leaned in against Ruby. "You can do it!"

Ruby shook her head. "I'm not gonna make it, too sleepy."

A worried frown tugged at Pyrrha's lips as Ruby's head finally sank against the desk. Her eyes were shut, and for all intents and purposes, she was dead to the worl- "Eep!" Ruby barely covered her mouth as she nearly jumped out of her seat from a finger poking her in the side, none too gently. "Pyrrha! What was that for?!"

"To keep you awake. "

"You didn't have to poke me so hard."

"I'm sorr-"

"Ah, Miss Rose, I see you and Miss Nikos are having discussion even before class has ended!" Silver eyes widened in horror, as Pyrrha's face mirrored much of the same. "Would you mind sharing with the class?"

Ruby was most _certainly_ awake now.

"We were…um…. uh… that's to say…" Ruby didn't have the faintest idea about what the class was even on today, besides fighting Grimm – she'd been all too focused on trying to keep her eyes opened than the subject material. "…um…"

"We were discussing the best way to kill the King Taijitu if we had been in the same situation."

"Most studious of you, Miss Nikos!" Ruby was going to find a way to pay Pyrrha back, _she can have any of the candy she wants!_ "So, what were some of the ways you two decided on?" Back to square one. Crap.

"By… shooting… it…?" Ruby could see the thick grey eyebrows narrow; evidently shooting it hadn't been the correct answer, _I should have stayed in bed today._

"We'd do a double lariat!" Port nodded approvingly at the extremely unrealistic move, _forget the candy, I'll be the little spoon tonight! …not that I'll notice the moment we get into bed…_

"Excellent idea, Miss Nikos, but what about the other head, Miss Rose?"

"I… uh… would have kicked it?" Bushy eyebrows started to narrow again, as panic spread throughout Ruby from Port's questioning look.

"What kind of kick?"

"A…um… roundhouse…?"

There was silence for a handful of seconds, which might as well of been years to Ruby. "Excellent idea, Miss Rose, they King Taijitu have a weak chin and-"

BUZZ

"-and we'll come to the stunning conclusion tomorrow, class dismissed!"

Ruby let out a sigh of relief before slumping against Pyrrha. "That was close."

"It was all my fault." Ruby didn't need to have her eyes opened to know that Pyrrha was pouting. "I didn't mean to poke you so hard or have Port call on us… is there something I can do to make it for you?"

Ruby numbly nodded, as the adrenaline started to wear off. "Yup." She fell forwards, off Pyrrha's shoulders and ending up in her lap. "Carry me back to the dorms pleaseeeeee?"

"Of course!" Strong arms picked her up in a bridal carry, Ruby's head coming to rest in the crook of Pyrrha's neck.

Ruby was asleep before they even got out of the classroom.

* * *

AU: If you can't tell, I'm extremely sleepy and this is why this chapter exists.

Now, I may have said that I was going to do three Halloween chapters for _Spoon Equality_ … I maaay have burned myself out on them, so that's a thing, and I am sorry for lying D: That side-story REALLY took a number on me. (Also, for those who read the side-story, _The Ice Queen and the Viking_ , the voting for the contest it's part of, is now open on reddit!)

So, couple of things to say. I'll leave the thing that contains spoilers last and make a big ol warning for that.

I like doing extremely mundane things, which is where this comes out of. Secondly, I'm sorry for this chapter being a bit… boring. I really I didn't have much to say. On the other hand, the next chapter should be out on Friday along with Acceptance and Dilation! :D

 **SPOILERS FOR EPISODE TWO OF VOLUME 4, BE WARNED**

Also, I might, just MIGHT have a little bit of hope in me now because Ruby is hearing Pyrrha's voice. It's a good feeling to have hope once more, in stark contrast to the despair I was feeling in the volume 3 finale. The hope might be crushed, but I feel positive, if only vaguely, about the show for the first time since ep 11 of vol 3.

Speaking of which, thanks again to everyone who helped me get through that finale, you guys are fucking amazing! :D

 **SPOILERS END**

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	59. Chapter 59

"I won."

"No, I'm pretty sure I did."

"My score was higher, than yours."

"Yeah, well… I broke more rows than you!"

Sometimes, after a game, there was no winner that could be picked, or rather, there was a dispute about who had actually won. Since neither Ruby nor Pyrrha were going to budge, especially with who got to be the big spoon for the night on the line, they needed a mediator.

"Jaune," Pyrrha's partner glanced up from the comic book he was read, "who should win; the person who completes more lines," emerald eyes flickered towards Ruby for a moment, "or who got the higher score?"

"I-"

"Hold it!" Ruby pointed accusingly at Jaune, loud enough that everyone else in the room looked at her, causing her to wilt slightly under the attention. "She's your partner, obviously you'll pick Pyrrha!"

"But I don't even know what this is abou-"

"No he won't, Jaune is very unbiased, right Jaune?" The tone in which Pyrrha had said it was making it abundantly clear that he should say yes. Yet Ruby knew that game well.

"I think we should get someone who won't pick favourites to decide, someone who would never ever rig who won unfairly-"

"We aren't using your sister."

"That wasn't who I was thinking of!" _Especially since I'm pretty sure Yang is still annoyed at me for scratching her poster… it's not like she can't get another one!_ "I'd like to nominate-"

"-or Weiss."

Ruby gasped loudly, as she put her hand over her chest, feigning hurt. "How dare you say anything about Weiss' honour, I'll-"

"Ruby, she's your partner."

"Ugh, fine." Ruby crossed her arms as she pouted. "Then who do you think it should be?"

"Hmm." Pyrrha tapped her chin a few times. "Well, if any our teammates are out of the question…?" Ruby nodded, prompting Pyrrha to continue. "Then we need someone who is truly and completely unbiased, someone who can't be coerced or bribed…"

"Aha!" Ruby jumped up and onto the bed. "I know exactly who it should be!"

* * *

"So explain to me once more why the two of you needed to talk to a professor in the middle of the night and how it's so urgent that it couldn't wait until morning?" Professor Goodwitch let out a long, pained sigh, while Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck looked on with interest.

Truthfully, Ruby hadn't expected them to run into more than one professor, let alone three; she was already beginning to regret the plan.

It was simple, really, _who was the most unbiased and incorruptible people on campus?_ Clearly the people who teach at it. At the time, it had sounded like an excellent idea. However seeing the clearly annoyed look in Glynda's eyes was making her second guess herself.

"Well you see, um, we were having an argument and Pyrrha suggested Jaune, but since he's her partner, I didn't think that was fair, but she didn't think anyone I picked was fair either, even if it was Weiss, so we were like 'who doesn't play favourites?' and we ended up here!"

Three sets of eyes were focused on her, as each one of the teachers were trying to work out what exactly Ruby had just said in one long jumble of words.

"We have a, uh, issue that requires we find someone who wouldn't pick sides," Pyrrha summarized after a moment. "So we came here."

"An issue you say?" Port stroked his moustache. "Well, I've settled many disputes between many huntsmen and huntresses, so what is this over?" Ruby felt shame under his watchful eyes. "Is it related to a boy, per chan-"

"Peter!" Glynda's voice stopped him. "Let the poor girls explain!"

However, Ruby was having trouble vocalizing, a problem that Pyrrha seemed to mirror.

"Oh!" Doctor Oobleck snapped his fingers. "It's obviously an academic question! I mean what bright young students hasn't laid awake in bed, sweating for hours, trying to figure out the answer to a complex problem posed in their homework, only for the mental strain to become too much and they have to know RIGHT NOW!" The green blur finally stopped before he straightened his tie. "Unfortunately, you'll just have to wait until class in the morning, I don't give answers out earl-!"

"That's not it, profe- I mean doctor." Pyrrha corrected herself, as her hand tightened around Ruby's. "It's more of a personal matter, not an academic one…"

"Personal matter? Like who has a higher kill count?"

"No, its…" Ruby could hear Pyrrha gulp, "It's about _us_."

"Well that sounds-wait." Port's eyes widened, Ruby finally seeing them open for the first time since she had started at Beacon. "Come again?"

"Clearly Miss Nikos is referring to the relationship she has with Miss Rose." Doctor Oobleck adjusted his glasses. "Right?"

Both the girls nodded.

Oobleck and Port glanced at each other before looking at Goodwitch.

"I seemed to have run out of coffee-"

"-Edgar needs his evening meal else he'll get rancorous-"

"-Professor Goodwitch would be more than be capable in helping you two, after all, it's her office-"

"-stay vigilant!"

With that, the door slammed shut, leaving Pyrrha and Ruby alone with Glynda, who was by this point looking like she was about to throw the desk that she was seated at through the wall. Ruby shot a troubled glance at Pyrrha, who was clearly trying to put on a brave face for the both of them.

Eventually the professor let out a sigh before facing the two with a surprisingly calm and almost gentle expression. "So, what seems to be the problem?"

"H-Have you played Tetris before?"

The older woman frowned. "Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Is completing more lines or getting a higher score, better?"

The gentle look became an annoyed glare. "Score." Ruby let out a defeated sigh, and Pyrrha let a small but proud smirk onto her lips. "Can we get back to the issue at hand? I don't have time for superfluous questions."

"But that was it."

"…I beg your pardon?"

"We needed to figure out who won so someone could be the big spoon." Silver eyes widened in horror as Ruby realized what she had just said. "I mea-uh…" The eyes of a confused tiger were staring at them – the moment the confusion ended, they were dead. "…bye!"

Rose petals took their spot as Ruby bolted from the room with Pyrrha in tow.

"…I need a drink."

* * *

AU: Not my best work, but I still think it's quite amusing.

If I had to say one fault with the chapter, it's that I probably was jumping around too fast, and could have spent double the amount of words to really flesh it out. Basically I wanted the profs to assume that they were having relationship issues and split, and Glynda buckled up for being a guidance counselor except the issue was actually super simple...

ANYWHO, _DILATION_ AND _ACCEPTANCE_ UPDATES IN A FEW HOURS, GET HYPED!

That's… that's all I got for now, see you in a few hours for the next update!

For those who only read _Spoon Equality_ , I hope you have a wonderful day and thank you for reading! :D


	60. Chapter 60

"Do you think we're weird?"

Pyrrha looked down at her girlfriend, a feat that was made difficult by how close the two were cuddled together in the elder one's bed. "I… don't think so?"

"Oh. Okay." Silver eyes broke eye contact as Ruby nestled against the crook of Pyrrha's neck.

Seconds passed as the reasoning behind the question started to eat at Pyrrha as she couldn't figure out what would even prompt such a concern – _did I do something?_ No, everything was ordinary and they'd been cuddled in a pile of blankets for the better part of an hour… "Why do you ask, Ruby?"

The smaller girl shifted slightly. "Spooning," Ruby mumbled after a moment.

"Spooning?" Pyrrha parroted back, confusion clear in her voice. "That's not something weird, other couples do that too."

"Yeah, well… um, they don't make games of it," Ruby said with a sigh. "For everyone else, it just sorta happens…"

Pyrrha thought for a moment, _is it really that abnormal?_ Sure, no other couple – not that Pyrrha knew all that many – had to play a game to figure out who was the big spoon every night, but this felt… sudden. "Do you want to stop? Playing games, that is."

Red-streaked hair tickled Pyrrha's chin as Ruby shook her head. "I have fun whenever we play, even if you cheat sometimes."

"It's not cheating if there are no rules against kisses," Pyrrha gently reminded her girlfriend, who rolled her eyes in return. "Is there a reason it's bothering?"

Ruby shrugged, leaving Pyrrha in want of an answer. "Not really? I guess?"

Yet, Pyrrha didn't press her girlfriend for any further reason, instead basking in her warmth – her hair lightly touching her face. That was something that Pyrrha had learned about Ruby; _if she is going to tell you, she'll do it when she feels like she needs to talk about it. Forcing the issue would just makes her uncomfortable._ Which was something that Pyrrha most assuredly did not want.

"…Weiss sorta-kinda-maybe mentioned that if we keep her up with another 'weird' game that she's going to steal Zwei and take him to Atlas…" Ruby half-heartedly murmured.

"Doesn't Zwei actually belong to your dad?" Pyrrha pointed out. "Plus, I don't think he'd make it through border control."

"I don't know, I'm pretty sure Weiss would figure out a way. She _always_ does."

Pyrrha shrugged. "Do you think our games are weird?"

"I dunno… I guess?"

"We could always figure out another way to do it."

"Like how?" Curious silver eyes stared up at her.

"Hmm… we could alternate every night?" Pyrrha suggested after a moment. "That way it's even and there is no fuss?"

"I guess but that sounds boring." Ruby pouted, eliciting a giggle from Pyrrha.

"Then what would you suggest?"

"Um… whoever… um… eats the most cookies gets to be the big spoon!" There was a hopeful tone to Ruby's voice.

"I'd rather not have it be something that's quite so… unhealthy," Pyrrha gently admonished. "What about we fight for it?"

"Like sparring?"

"Possibly."

"Nah, you'd just pull Crescent Rose away with your magneto powers and kick my butt in like an instant."

Now it was Pyrrha's turn to pout under the untrue – but slightly accurate – accusations. "…I wouldn't need to do that to win… but you make a good point… we could do it without weapons?"

"That's worse!"

"How is it worse?"

"Pyrrha, your biceps are the size of my head," Ruby deadpanned.

"Oh. Right."

"Whoever runs the fastest mile?"

"Ruby…"

"Uhh…" Ruby had clearly ran out of ideas. "Rock paper scissors?"

"We did that last night."

"Oh."

"…"

"…"

"…we could just not change it…"

Ruby, however, didn't accept that answer, shaking her head in a resounding 'no'. "…we could do whoever wants to be the big spoon for the night?"

"Hmm… I suppose so?" The moment Pyrrha agreed, Ruby started to try and wiggle out of her embrace.

"I want to be the big spoon now." Yet Pyrrha's arms didn't budge; Ruby struggled in vain for several minutes before letting out an exasperated sigh. "Pyrrhaaa!"

"But I want to be the big spoon too..." That was the flaw in the plan – _doesn't work out so well when we both want to be the big spoon._

"…maybe, you are right." Ruby conceded after a few minutes of silent contemplation. "Maybe we could just not change it?"

Pyrrha hummed in agreement. "I'm fine with what you decide, Ruby. Just as long as you are comfortable." Which earned a rather lovely smile from her girlfriend. "Though… I think Weiss might have taken issue with what game we we're playing last night and less with the concept."

Ruby's brow furrowed in confusion as she looked towards the game which Nora had recommended to them.

"…what's wrong with a five foot Jenga tower?"

* * *

AU: Turns out that a five foot tall Jenga tower falling over in the middle of the night is considered 'weird' by Weiss. No idea why.

To be honest, I was hoping for this chapter to turn out a bit more serious than the end product... oh well. It's cute at least.

Interestingly enough, the first hundred words had been sitting in my folder labelled "chapter 59" for several months – possibly more than half a year – and I am just getting around to finishing it and putting it up as chapter 60.

In other news, _Acceptance_ is moving along. I should have a first draft done by next weekend and still be able to post in early December!

…I don't have much else to say today/this week, I suppose? I've been playing 'I am bread' and everything in that game is evil. Or at least the controls are. Yeah.

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	61. Chapter 61

Despite Ruby's want to be the big spoon, there was always something uniquely amazing about waking up as the little spoon.

For one, Ruby felt safe.

It was like the big scary world, with all of its horribleness was in a different reality while Pyrrha's muscled arms were wrapped around her, shielding her from it. As cliché as it sounded, Ruby couldn't quite recall the last time she had a nightmare when she was the little spoon.

… _except that time I elbowed her in the face…_

Ruby face went flush with embarrassment, as she thought back to a time when she woke up after nearly giving Pyrrha a bloody nose. _But that hasn't happened since! …unless Pyrrha hasn't told me…_ It was hard for Ruby to imagine Pyrrha lying to her about something, even if it was merely by omission.

Wiggling around in Pyrrha's embrace, Ruby turned around to face her – the tall redhead's expression was utterly relaxed; no frustration or anxiety that sometimes marred it. She had the kind of expression that Ruby wished her better half always had. That was another thing; Ruby fell asleep almost immediately in Pyrrha's arms, and it was only at times like these that she woke up first.

 _What time is it?_ Ruby shifted to look over at the clock. The haze of semi-consciousness clung to her, making her take a few moments to figure out the analog clock – even with Nora's night light on _…we aren't supposed to get up for another hour._ She let out a small sigh before settling back into Pyrrha's arms.

There was another, far more… selfish reason that Ruby never quite minded being the little spoon, as much as it might seem. Those reasons took the form of the generous and soft – but firm - curves that her face was pressed up against… the kind of pillows that Pyrrha always pulled her against. The curves, that by nature of when Ruby was the big spoon, she didn't get to enjoy nearly as much.

They were only partly the reason that Ruby was more than content to simply stay in Pyrrha's arms, even though she knew sleep was not going to come back to her anytime soon.

It was only times like this that Ruby and Pyrrha got to spend time together without any distractions; no homework or teammates or classes to get in the way. Simply just them and nothing else. Nothing that could make them pull apart.

Basking in Pyrrha's warmth, silver eyes couldn't quite stay shut, no matter how content Ruby was… she had far too much energy and as such, her eyes wandered to her girlfriend's arms, the triceps marred with faint scars from numerous fights. Without thinking, Ruby idly started to trace the faded marks lightly with a finger.

 _Wait, that'll wake her up!_ With the realization, Ruby's hand jerked back as she went still, hoping that she hadn't woken up Pyrrha. Turning with the smallest possible motion, she looked at her champion's face, to see if her eyes were still closed.

Relief flooded her as the emerald eyes she so adored were still hidden from view, _that was close-_

Lips brushed against hers' in a lazy kiss.

"Mhmm… good morning Ruby," Pyrrha whispered after she pulled away.

"Morning…" Ruby mumbled, having been caught off-guard as silver met emerald. "Did I wake you up?"

The taller redhead shook her head. "I've been up since… an hour ago?" Pyrrha shrugged.

Ruby frowned. "Wait you've been up the whole time?"

Emerald eyes guiltily darted away from Ruby's. "I thought you might go back to sleep, so I didn't move…"

"Pyrrhaaa…." Yet there was no force behind her whine, as a smile was tugging at the corners of Ruby's lips. "Were you waiting just to kiss me?"

"…perhaps…"

Ruby stretched up, her lips pressing forcefully against the larger girl. Time stopped for the two until the smaller one pulled away, her breath ragged and erratic, as a huge dopey grin lit up Pyrrha's face. "There! Better?"

Pyrrha shyly nodded. "…a little… maybe a few more?" There was an adorable tinge of hope to her voice, as if she might think that Ruby wouldn't shower her to death with kisses if she didn't ask nicely.

Being the good girlfriend that she was, Ruby stretched right back up, her arms wrapping around the back of Pyrrha's neck as the tall redhead pulled her tightly against her. A final, undeniable reason about the good things that came out of being the little spoon flitted into Ruby's head as her hands started to move upwards, roaming through long crimson hair.

It wasn't that being the little spoon made make outs easier, though that was certainly a bonus – it was just a little hard to kiss anything besides Pyrrha's back as the big spoon, Ruby knew that well from experience.

Rather, it was something that was brought forth by Pyrrha's long hair. Whenever she found herself wrapped around Pyrrha, her girlfriend's luscious hair would without fail tickle or a few strands would end up in her mouth.

Yet even that thought was forgotten as Pyrrha deepened the kiss, and Ruby responded in kind.

Sometimes it was nice to be the little spoon.

* * *

AU: See, even when Ruby is the little spoon, it's still all good :P

Basically... Pyrrha was up before Ruby was awake, and kept still so she wouldn't wake up Ruby and when Rubes did get up, to let her fall back asleep.

Seriously, this was a lazy chapter on my end. I've had real life obligations and been sorta kinda sick for the past few days, so forgive me for being late and quality suffering D:

In other news, I'm still clawing my way through _Acceptance_ 26, despite a rewrite, I'm hopeful I can have the release be on time for early next month! That's the hope, at least.

I… I really don't have anything else this time around? Yup.

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	62. Chapter 62

There was something uniquely terrifying about spending the holidays with your girlfriend's family, Pyrrha had come to realize.

By no stretch of the imagination was Ruby's dad anything but accommodating; Taiyang had been happy when he found out about their relationship. He'd readily accepted her into their family, much to Pyrrha and Ruby's joy. Nor had Ruby's uncle been anything other than welcoming… in his own, booze-filled way. Considering that Yang had been one of the people to help push the two of them together, for all intents and purposes, Ruby's family had completely accepted Pyrrha. Yet…

Just because she had found a measure of acceptance with them, didn't make spending four days in Ruby's childhood home any easier. Which was weird, considering that besides Taiyang, everyone else who was staying in the house were the same people Pyrrha lived with; Ruby, Yang, Zwei and Blake – who Yang had adamantly refused to let stay alone in the dorms over the holiday weekend. And yet…

There was something about knowing her girlfriend's father was in the room that made Pyrrha scooch a bit further away from Ruby when they cuddled – keeping a chaste distance. Or made her want to look over her shoulder every time they kissed… just to make sure that Taiyang didn't happen to be strolling by.

The thought that Taiyang might decide to stop by Ruby's room in the middle of the night for whatever reason and catch Pyrrha with her arms wrapped around his daughter at best… or doing things more deviant than just kissing, certainly kept her up at night far later than she'd admit.

All of which were things that her rose noticed…

* * *

The first sensation that Pyrrha noticed as she gently floated out of unconsciousness, was that of two arms wrapped around her, pulling her close to the heat source that was invariably her girlfriend.

And for a time, that was fine; Pyrrha was more than content to lie in Ruby's embrace, kept warm by her and the mountain of blankets on top of them. It certainly didn't hurt that Ruby's face was nestled against her chest either.

Yet as she awakened, certain facts started to come to the forefront of her mind – namely that they were on Patch, and given the bits of light coming through the windows and the distinct lack of snoring dictated that Yang had already left the sibling's shared room.

The gears slowly turned in Pyrrha's sleepy mind; _someone is going to come and wake us up. Which means…_

Quite suddenly, Pyrrha was very, _very_ awake.

Her first instinct was to try and get Ruby off of her, so if her girlfriend's father walked in, he wouldn't see Pyrrha's cleavage pressed up against his daughter's face.

However, moving Ruby would undoubtedly mean waking her up – something that Pyrrha didn't want to do purely out of such a selfish reason. Wake up Ruby or have the possibility of Taiyang walk in on this…

The conundrum held Pyrrha in a kind of mental paralysis, as she weighed both options. _If I wake up Ruby instead of letting her sleep in will mean she'll be tired._ Of all the things that worried Pyrrha in regards to Ruby, her sleeping pattern – or lack therefore of – consistently made the top of the list. Simply put, she didn't sleep very well and woke up constantly during the night, which led, more often than not, to something like this happening. If they were on a hunt or at Beacon, Pyrrha _would_ wake her up out of necessity, but nothing more. So the thought of being the one to deprive her precious rose of even a few extra minutes of precious sleep did not sit well with Pyrrha.

The reverse, of course, would be Taiyang walking in to wake them up whenever breakfast was ready and seeing his youngest daughter's face pressed up against her girlfriend's chest. Which, while it might be excusable if they were both asleep, was considerably less so since Pyrrha knew that she'd awkwardly make eye contact if he entered the room. The mere thought of how awkward it'd make the rest of the weekend – and quite possibly longer than that – was not an attractive one either.

In the end, Pyrrha's anxieties started to win out, as she slightly nudged Ruby up and towards her face. Yet, as Ruby edged closer to her at the pace of several millimeters at a time, a floorboard creaked – no doubt someone walking in the hallway – which, unfortunately for Pyrrha, made her jolt, and the pace went from millimeters, to Ruby's lips grazing her own.

Silver eyes fluttered open.

"Mornin', Pyrrha," Ruby lazily drawled before dragging herself forward a few inches forward and into another kiss.

"G-good morning, Ruby," Pyrrha stuttered out in surprise. "I didn't meant to wake you up…"

Ruby shrugged off the apology. "It's 'kay." She lethargically glanced at a clock before settling back down… right where she'd been a minute ago, pressed against Pyrrha's chest.

Anxiety started to mount again in far greater force and before she could think of a plan, her mouth unconsciously opened. "Ruby…" Tired silver eyes slowly looked up at her as Ruby finished nestling in her old spot… there was no way Pyrrha had it in her to tell Ruby to move. "…I love you." Pyrrha somewhat lamely mumbled out.

A dopey smile stretched across Ruby's lips. "I love you too." And with that she started to move from her spot – _success! …somehow!_ Pyrrha wasn't going to question it – before pressing her lips far more forcefully than a chaste kiss against Pyrrha's.

Somehow, the situation had gone from bad to fine to worse.

Worse still, there was no way she could protest it because the several days they'd spent on Patch had deprived Pyrrha of much of the private moments they usually got… so it felt sinfully good to give in. Especially when Ruby pulled away, both of them breathing raggedly before nibbling and giving lingering kisses down Pyrrha's neck – the kind that were sure to give very visible marks. There was no way she could stop herself – not that she even wanted to – as unfiltered happy noises started pour out of her, while her own hands started to find their way inside Ruby's waistband-

Emerald eyes finally noticed the rather mortified blond man who was caught, frozen in place, halfway through the doorway.

Pyrrha stiffened as her hands jerked up, the mood had become deader than mountain Glenn – and her actions didn't go by unnoticed either, as silver eyes looked up… and saw Taiyang. The heated lust in her eyes vanished in an instant.

"I'm… just… going… to… leave…" Taiyang awkwardly back up and out of the doorway before closing the associated door.

The silence was so thick that Pyrrha swore she could have heard a pin drop from the next kingdom over. "Are… are we in trouble?"

Ruby took a deep breath in before letting it out. "Um… I don't think so? I mean when he caught Yang with-!" Suddenly Ruby clapped her hands over her mouth. "Uhhhh, you heard nothing!"

Pyrrha shrugged. "But…?"

"Well," Ruby started again, "we we're just kissing, so, um, it'll probably be fine?"

Pyrrha lamely nodded, "I can only hop-"

"YANG XIAO LONG!" Taiyang's voice interrupted whatever Pyrrha was about to say, "YOU SAID THAT YOU HAD TOLD RUBY ABOUT THE SOCK ON DOOR!"

This time, when Ruby buried her face in Pyrrha's chest, it wasn't because of it being a comfortable spot to rest her face, but to hide the burning shame that had lit up her face – something that Pyrrha wished she could do as well.

 _Well, at least I don't have to worry about whether Ruby's dad finding out about what we do anymore…_

* * *

AU: For once, I wasn't setting out to ruin the mood… I just realized that in the end, I legitimately couldn't find a way to rekindle it after Taiyang entered… sorry…

They pick up where they left off that night. There we go. Also Yang high-fives Ruby, or tries to. They had a really awkward thanksgiving meal later that day.

I'm rambling and it's only a few dozen words in, jeez.

Basically, I wanted to do Thanksgiving on Patch, but I couldn't figure out what would be so I ended up writing Pyrrha's thoughts on how it'd be like to be around Ruby's dad. Yup.

Sorry for taking an extra day to post this! I'd like to say I've been hard at work, but I've had real motivation problems (less with writing and more with just my general outlook on life for the past few months). Also Acceptance chapter 26 is something that most definitely won't be out next Friday… so look forward for it being release on January 1st, at the latest! There has just been too many rewrites and additions for me to have it done on time and I'm sorry! D:

I think that's about… it?

OH, RIGHT, ONE LAST THING!

So, I had an idea for this chapter that proved ridiculous (and requiring far more time than the hour and a half that this got) and utterly absurd. However, I'm more than willing to adapt it for the Christmas chapter… SO! Is everyone here okay with extreme crack occurring in the Christmas chapter? Yes? No? I need to know before I make a decision.

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day (and thanksgiving weekend – even if it's mostly over)! :D


	63. Chapter 63

"Pyrrha."

"Yes, Ruby?"

"I have an idea." Pyrrha set down her book and glanced down at her much smaller girlfriend who was cuddled against her shoulder.

"…an idea on what?" Pyrrha caved and asked after a few seconds.

"On what game to play today~" The creeping smile that was stretching Ruby's lips was either a very, _very_ bad thing or a very, _very_ good thing.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Weeeell," Ruby rocked in her seat for a moment, clearly excited over it, "do you trust me?"

"Of course," Pyrrha responded without missing a beat. "I trust you completely."

"So what if I told you that you'll figure out the game as it happens?"

"That's… intriguing, but what's the game going to b- hnnhh!" Pyrrha never got a chance to finish her sentence as Ruby's lips urgently pressed against her own, silencing her.

And just like that, the 'game' was afoot.

Except Pyrrha had no idea what the game was; _is it who is the better kisser?_ That didn't make a whole lot of sense, seeing as there was literally no way to judge that sort of thing – _its not like we could compare whose's lips are more, um… skilled._ The implications of what skill could mean only clouded Pyrrha's mind further, as Ruby pressed and pressed against her.

Finding out the rules of the game was a lost cause, as Pyrrha came to the conclusion that she was overthinking it, especially since trying to figure it out meant not paying attention to her girlfriend, who was doing her best to make her lose her perception of time. And so, Pyrrha let Ruby take control, deciding to just see how this played out.

Slender arms were wrapped around the back of Pyrrha's neck, as Ruby pulled herself up – something that Pyrrha only helped along by pulling her small girlfriend up to eye level with considerable ease. Sometimes the kisses were gentle, sometimes they were forceful, yet Ruby kept coming back for more. And more. And more. All of which, Pyrrha was happy to provide.

Quite suddenly, Pyrrha realized that Ruby was looming over her, pushing her almost onto her back, her silver eyes glinting with something other than lust and love – smug, smug victory. It was in that moment that the taller redhead came to the understanding that letting Ruby push her over anymore would be a bad thing.

Pushing back, that is, stopping her descent to the floor and in turn, righting herself took away that glint of victory and replaced it with panic. It was only then that Pyrrha had an epiphany about what the game actually was.

Whoever could top, would win.

Pyrrha smiled and silver eyes darted around frantically. The jig was up.

In terms of pure strength, Ruby was no match against Pyrrha, and both of them knew it as the redhead with arms thick with muscles the size of her girlfriend's thighs started to push the smaller one back. And back. Pyrrha's arms went from pulling Ruby to her, to wandering up her back, no longer aiding the smaller girl…

And that was when Ruby struck.

Her hands deftly uncoiled from Pyrrha's neck and grabbed the bottom of her tank-top, the one that Ruby had bought her for her just last weekend with a rose on it, and pulled it up. With perfect timing, her lips pulled away from Pyrrha's, a trail of saliva hanging between them before fabric cut it and went over her face. Which, in turn, wrenched her arms away from Ruby's back, trapping them with the clothing above Pyrrha's head.

Just like that, the tables had turned, as Ruby took the initiative, pushing Pyrrha back down again, her legs coming to either side of the tall redhead's waist, pinning her in place. The solution for this was obvious, Pyrrha could easily break the thin piece of fabric binding her arms, except; _Ruby gave that to me as a gift, I can't ruin it!_ It was a sentiment that Ruby knew Pyrrha had, making the ploy all the more devious.

Yet, even under the handicap, Pyrrha wasn't one to be counted out so easily – the Invincible Girl didn't lose. With the full weight of her girlfriend pressing down on her, Pyrrha stopped her descent and slowly, ever so slowly, started to push Ruby back by sheer force of will.

Except Ruby still had a trick or two up her sleeves.

It was such a small trick too, something so devious and underhanded that Pyrrha was caught completely unaware as Ruby gently nibbled on her bottom lip, causing her concentration to break as a happy noise spilled forth from her lips…

…and Pyrrha's back touched the ground.

Pyrrha's struggling ended, as Ruby pulled back, a smug smile lighting up her face. "I won!"

"…that wasn't fair…" Pyrrha pouted as Ruby pulled the tank top completely off of her, freeing her arms.

"Yeah, well, you agreed to it!" Ruby pointed out.

"I want a rematch."

"Nope!"

"Please?"

"Nu-uh!"

Much to Ruby's surprise, Pyrrha had a trick or two to play of her own, gently grabbing Ruby's hand's and positioning them right over what _had_ been covered by the tank top but now was only covered by something that left far less to the imagination. "I'll make it worth your while…" Pyrrha mustered in her most seductive tone, dripping with honeyed promises.

"I…uh… um…" Ruby's face had lit up red than her namesake, "I-I guess we coul- eep!" Pyrrha wasted no time, pushing Ruby onto her back as if she weighed as much as a feather.

"I win."

"B-b-but you, I mean, that's-"

Pyrrha's hands grabbing the hem of Ruby's shirt silenced the small girl. "Now let me make it worth your while~"

* * *

AU: There, I made up for last time :P

I don't have much to say today, namely because of a splitting headache and real life wiggling into my free time, but the overwhelming support/want for that crack Christmas chapter was heard. I doubt this is going to be anything ANYONE will expect, or wanted, but you get what you asked for (also expect it to be longer than normal).

With that, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for any quality dip in the chapter (I feel like I say this every chapter…), I was really just having to get something out inbetween real life things.

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D

P.S. Just a quick thing to clear up any confusion, but all the pushing happens with their lips (someone was confused about that...)

* * *

Omake:

Taiyang had decided to find out just how strong the stuff Qrow drank was and how long it'd take to bleach his brain. The reason was a text from his daughter; not Ruby, but Yang. It was a simple picture message of a doorknob with a sock on it and the caption of 'See, I did tell her!'


	64. Chapter 64

Ruby loved snow.

It was a deeply engraved feeling; the falling snowflakes meant a time of festivities – a time for the family to be together. To go outside and build snowmen and pick snowball fights. Or walk around the island, watching the glowing holiday lights as Zwei jumped between their footprints.

Naturally, the moment Ruby looked out the window after waking up and saw a thick blanket of white covering the ground and gently falling from the cloudy sky, she was already planning on making a snowman. Or building a fort and challenging Yang, or Nora, to a snowball fight. It was a sentiment that everyone shared – even Weiss.

Ergo, the moment class ended, they were out the door.

Yet, it wasn't until they were picking teams for a rematch fight that Ruby realized where she had erred.

Pyrrha, the woman who had won the Mistral regional tournament four times in a row, the champion who couldn't be defeated, the 'Invincible Girl' herself… could not stand the cold at all. Like at all.

It was something that always struck Ruby as odd, especially given how much Pyrrha's combat gear didn't exactly leave much to the… imagination – _not that I'm complaining!_ One would assume that with that much skin uncovered, said person would be fine with the cold, but then again, the only person Ruby really could compare Pyrrha to in outfit choice was Yang. Who, incidentally, was a walking, talking furnace.

Regardless, despite wearing the school uniform – far warmer than her usual attire, a heavy coat, leg warmers, a hat and a huge scarf that was wrapped around her several times, Ruby could _see_ she was shivering. Which was an accomplishment in its own right, since the _only_ thing really visible was her eyes.

"Are you cold?"

The redhead shook her head rather quickly. "I'm fine."

"Pyrrha, you are shivering."

"No I'm not."

Ruby wrapped herself around her rather stubborn girlfriend in a hug before her eyes widened. Pyrrha wasn't just shivering a little; her whole body was shaking. Emerald eyes shamefully averted, as Pyrrha pulled Ruby against her, tightly.

"Maybe we should go insid-"

"N-no, it's fine! I'm fine!" There was a hint of panic tinging the elder girl's voice as she stayed rooted to her spot.

It was only then that it started to click for Ruby.

There were many, many things that Ruby loved about Pyrrha; just about every facet of her personality, except…

Sometimes Pyrrha had an annoying amount of selflessness to her – she would stay quiet about something if it meant others were happy. That's simply how she is. For instance, if Ren made pancakes and Nora was asking if anyone minded if she ate the last couple, Pyrrha never objected, despite her never getting a second helping like everyone else.

Or, in this case, going inside so she didn't freeze to death and disappoint her girlfriend, who had spent the better part of the day talking about playing in the snow.

"You're cold." Ruby stated flatly.

"N-no I'm-m n-n-n-not!" Pyrrha's hands shot to her mouth.

"Your teeth are chattering…" Concern started to seep into Ruby's tone as Pyrrha shook her head in denial, clearly not trusting herself to deny it verbally.

Despite Pyrrha's face being covered by a scarf, after a few seconds, even Ruby could hear the chattering. "Pyrrha!" Ruby whined as she pulled away, and tried dragging Pyrrha towards the closest door.

"Please, Pyrrha?" Only with Ruby tugging at her and pouting did the taller girl's shoulders slumped in failure and she let herself be led away.

* * *

"Do you feel better?"

Worry still coloured Ruby's voice, but considerably less so than a few minutes ago.

Something about seeing Pyrrha, covered in blankets next to a fireplace, sipping hot chocolate while making quiet content noises had alleviated most of her worry.

"Yes… I think so," Pyrrha mumbled, her voice barely audible before taking another sip.

"Yay!" Ruby plopped down next her girlfriend, before sipping on her own mug. "You were shaking a lot, and your teeth kept chattering even after we got inside, and you-looked-like-you-were-turning-blue-"

"I'm sorry." Ruby looked up to find emerald eyes staring into her own, before flitting to the window behind the couch, where they could see their friends flinging snowballs at each other, a deepening frown pulled at Pyrrha's lips. "You were really looking forward to the snow…"

Ruby's smile sagged.

"It's not like the snow is going to leave or anything," she tapped her chin, "well, at least not for a few months!" That did little to convince Pyrrha, as she glumly sipped her hot chocolate, completely set on the notion that she had ruined her girlfriend's fun.

"Plus it's not like it's the _only_ thing we can do; there is plenty of stuff to do inside!" That garnered a somewhat doubtful stare from Pyrrha, which Ruby ignored as she twisted around in her seat so she was facing the window and blew on it. The temperature difference made the window fog up immediately.

With a speed and accuracy that came from doing this far too much, Ruby's pointer traced an outline across the condensation, creating a rather recognizable figure.

"Is… is that a duck?" Pyrrha asked after a moment.

"Yup!" Ruby proudly puffed out her chest, more than a little smug that for once someone had actually been able to figure out what she drew. "Now you try!"

The frown that had been pulling at her lips turned into a compressed line, as Pyrrha focused on the window, her finger making ten sharp lines. "…is it a star?" That compress line turned into a small smile as Pyrrha nodded, before scooching back, giving Ruby room to take her turn.

Unlike Pyrrha's sharp lines, Ruby drew a messy circle, almost looking like a cloud before scattering dots all over it. "A cookie?"

"Mmm-hm!"

This time, none of Pyrrha's lines were straight, all of them curving in different ways. After a few minutes, Pyrrha stopped before expectantly staring at Ruby. "Is it… um…" The problem with trying to guess it, is that Ruby had not the foggiest idea of what it could be. The shape looked like a lumpy oval with four stumpy smaller ovals coming out and a big lumpy shape coming out the other end. "…a robot?"

"…it's supposed to be Zwei…" Pyrrha looked a little hurt, as Ruby took her turn. This, her image was exceedingly simple, something that no one could mistake.

"It's a heart."

Yet when Ruby scooched away, Pyrrha didn't wipe it away, but placed her finger inside of the simple design and wrote something before pulling away.

'Pyrrha & Ruby'

A heat that came from something other than the hot chocolate or fire started to spread throughout Ruby. "Yeah! Well!" Her finger danced across the window.

'I love you!' Complete with a heart dotting the exclamation point.

Pyrrha's retort came just as quickly. 'I love you more!'

Ruby took issue with it. 'No, I do!'

Yet, Pyrrha's response came not as something written on the window, but a kiss. Not a forceful or heated one, but instead gentle. Loving. She pulled away ever so slightly after a moment, until their foreheads were just pressed together, their noses rubbing.

"Is it better now?" Ruby knew it was a dumb question but she couldn't help but to ask… hoping to be reassured by Pyrrha that all was well.

It wasn't a simple 'yes' or even a nod that greeted her in a response, but Pyrrha shaking her head in a definitive 'no'. Ruby barely had time to be confused before she found herself being pulled into her girlfriend's lap – Pyrrha's arms tightly wrapping around her.

"Perfect."

* * *

AU: Look at these two, look how cute this is!~

So I thought I was going to write and post this last week, because I've been meaning to write this for the last week and a half, but real life reared its ugly head and I skipped a week. I'm sorry! D:

Anywho, I actually had quite a bit of fun with this one and am quite proud. For once. I also did an omake! Was it cute and fluffy enough for everyone?

Now begins the work of writing the Holiday chapter that I teased so long ago, and I am excited. A little nervous, but excited.

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

* * *

Omake:

Yang stared at her sister and Pyrrha heading inside, shaking her head. "Well, I guess, its just us- Weiss, why are you standing next to Nora?"

"Because if I stand next to you, she'll hit me with a snowball?"

"Traitor!" Lilac sought out Yang's last ally. "I guess it's just you and me, part… Partner…?"

Blake was not standing her ground next to her, as Yang had expected, but was standing next Weiss. Who was standing next to Nora. "Et tu Blakey?"

"...you shouldn't have lost my book." There were no mercy in those amber eyes.

"FIRE!"

"Well, shit."

That was as much Yang was able to get out before she got pelted by snowballs.


	65. Chapter 65

If Pyrrha could make as Ruby as happy as she was on Dustmas day, every day, then her life would be complete.

True, it would have been even better if Yang hadn't taken all the cookies in the house to make her customary giant cookie for Ruby – and blamed Santa Claus – despite the two redheads having spent the better part of the night guarding the kitchen…

But the expression of pure joy, and total happiness that Ruby seemed to embody, to such an extent that Pyrrha almost thought she'd break out in song as she let herself be led to the Dustmas tree, made up for any sleeplessness. Groggily, Pyrrha noticed Yang had already gathered at the tree, and there was an oddly shaped package under the pine tree, along with Blake – who had far less holiday cheer than her partner, or more aptly, was nowhere near awake – and Taiyang.

Even Qrow was there, to Pyrrha's surprise. If she was completely honest, she had doubts that he'd be up at the crack of dawn – none of which she voiced to Ruby, of course. _Is… is he seriously drinking alcohol at eight in the morning?_ Emerald eyes squinted as the flask that the man kept taking swigs from, _how does he function?_

Pyrrha had barely sat down when Ruby zoomed away, a trail of rose petals leading to the tree as her girlfriend donned a little red hat before carefully picking up a gifted wrapped box and giving it to her dad. "Here you go, Dad!"

Taiyang accepted it with a smile, before unwrapping it, revealing a rather ordinary box. Opening the box, he let out a chuckle before pulling out a rather… interestingly coloured sweater that proudly said 'Best Dad' across the front in bright, mismatching colours. Opening the attached card and glancing through it, he turned towards his youngest, giving her a quick hug. "Thanks, Ruby."

Ruby gleefully smiled back before pulling away and darting back to the tree, and pulled out another package, this time for her uncle. And then for Yang. Then Blake. Then Pyrrha. Then herself. Then the process repeated. And again.

In rather short order, the base of the tree was looking rather barren to Pyrrha's eyes, with only a few exceptions – most notably what looked like a cane-sized candy cane. It was only then that Ruby stopped handing them out, plopping down on Pyrrha's lap with a satisfied sigh.

"That was tough work." Pyrrha noted with a touch of humor, prompting Ruby to roll her eyes as the elder one wrapped her arms around her. "So, when are you going to open your presents?"

While Ruby had been giving herself presents at the end of each turn, they'd been stacking up next to Pyrrha, unopened – except, of course her dad's gift, having opened that immediately. "Now, duh!" Ruby reached over, and tore open the first package – a rectangle about a foot wide, half that wide and long... to reveal a big book. Not like a textbook kind of big, but more of the sort where the words weren't scrunched together – as Ruby flipped through it. The kind that was less of the dime a dozen paperback, and more of an elaborate, leather-bound book - the sort that is meant to be kept for a very long time.

"Is… is this…" Silver eyes were wide as Pyrrha glanced at Blake. It was the kind of gift that one didn't need to look at the card to figure out who it was from. The raven-haired woman nodded with a smile as Ruby let out a happy squeak, nearly falling off Pyrrha's lap from her excitement, "how'd you even find it?! Yang's been searching for a copy ever since she accidentally lit our old copy… on… fire…"

"I said I was sorry!" The blonde indignantly yelled before awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck, "It wasn't like I meant to…"

Yet Ruby had already stopped paying attention as Blake gave a comfortingly patted her partner on the back, totally engrossed in flipping through the short stories, only stopping to look at the illustrations. Handing Pyrrha the book after a moment, she darted over to Blake for a quick hug, mumbling out a thank you before returning to her girlfriend's lap. While Blake certainly set the bar high, Pyrrha had complete faith that her own gift to Ruby was going to leave it in the dust – _after all, I don't lose._

Gently setting the book of fairy tales aside, Ruby moved onto the next package. Once more, Pyrrha knew who it was from immediately; the poorly wrapped present – which was more indicative of its odd shape and less about the wrapper's ability – was definitely a huge cookie the size of Akoúo.

"Ruby?" Pyrrha asked in a half whisper.

"Hm?"

"Is that what Yang gets you every year?"

Silver eyes blinked as Ruby scratched her head. "Yeah, pretty much… why?"

Pyrrha's response died in her throat, as she shook her head, glancing over to Yang, who gave an all-knowing wink. Her own gift had been tickets to an establishment with a name so pun-y that both of them groan upon reading it… clearly meant for a date with Ruby.

 _I wonder what she got Blake…_ Emerald eyes wandered over to the Faunus, whose face was beet-red and was clutching a black book of some kind to her chest. _On second thought, ignorance is bliss._

The next gift looked a lot like Blake's, except about half its thickness, like a really slim book, which Ruby tore open in seconds revealing… _Ninja Fighter 10_. Pyrrha knew that it was part of the series that Ruby and Yang would play constantly with their uncle whenever he was around.

"Maybe if you get some practice, you can finally beat your big sister," Qrow smugly noted.

"Pfft, I'll still be the ninja champion!" Yang rolled her eyes, dismissing the notion with barely a thought as Ruby let out a disgruntled sigh and crossed her arms.

"When was the last time you actually _beat_ me?" The uncle leaned forward in his seat. "Last I checked, you haven't won against me yet."

"Next time, old man!"

"Hey, don't call me old!" Yang stuck her tongue out in response. "And you'll still lose."

"Why, you are _old_." Taiyang pointed out, as the two men started to bicker, something that Ruby had clearly tuned out as she placed the game in the growing stack next to Pyrrha.

That only left Pyrrha's gift from the original stack.

 _Well, one of her gifts…_

 _Does last night count as a gift?_ The memory of which made heat start to diffuse throughout her, _I suppose so, since I did have a bow on… and not a single thing else…_ Idly Pyrrha started glance back at the kitchen, before stopping herself – _no, we cleaned it at least three times afterwards, it's fine._

Still, Pyrrha was excited to see her girlfriend's reaction to the neatly wrapped box – _I put a lot of effort into it, I'm sure she'll like it_. There was a certain kind of joy, or rather, happiness that came from giving gifts seeing the face of your loved one light up and knowing that you were the one to make that happen.

Already, she could see Ruby grinning, from ear to ear as she read the small little card on the outside of it. Ever so carefully, she started to gently pull at the bright red-coloured packaging, pulling off the bow before making great pains to not hurt the gift inside by accident. The anticipation was building as she slowly went.

The bow finally came off and shortly thereafter the wrappings too, as a rather ordinary box was revealed…

…and a blood red portal opened in the middle of the room, spewing out two older, dark-haired women; one of whom looked like a rather twisted, seductive, sinister version of Ruby, while the other looked like a hardcore version of Yang… each in a varying state of undress.

Both of whom, were currently a step or two above _just_ making out.

Qrow and Taiyang's bickering died instantly; Ruby's dad's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, while the uncle blindly groped around for his flask, draining it until it was empty.

Yang, on the other hand, just stared. Stared was too underwhelming to describe her reaction. Her mouth was slightly agape, and her lilac eyes transfixed on the two women, her arms hanging limp by her sides. It was a reaction that Ruby surely mirrored, as Pyrrha's gift dropped from her hands, making a muted thud against the carpeted floor – entirely forgotten by the girl.

Emerald eyes sought out some form of an answer, before noticing Blake looking at her, just as confused about what had just happened and why the family was shocked into silence. Besides the obvious fact of two women teleporting in while making out. Waiting it out seemed like the most prudent course of action.

It was in this quiet that Pyrrha's ears honed in on the two remaining sources of sound.

The sound of wet lips meeting, of heated excitement between two adults. The urgency in their breathing, as the younger-ish woman's breath hitched for a moment as the one who looked like Yang bit her lip. Or the way a stray hand was travelling through clothing barely held in place on their bodies, the fabric rustling and straining against each woman's strength. The way that guttural moan of need started in the back of one of their throats as-

"M-Mom?" Yang's voice was choked full of more emotion than Pyrrha had ever heard… it was a far-cry from the usual teasing tone, the happy go-lucky attitude- _wait, that's her mom?!_

Now it was Pyrrha's, and Blake's, turn to gape at the two; the woman that had abandoned Yang as a baby, who had just walked out on Ruby's dad and her teammates, the person that Yang had spent her entire life looking for…

…as the two women kept going at it, clearly not paying any attention.

"Raven."

No response.

"Raven!"

Still nothing.

"RAVEN!"

Crimson eyes finally pulled away enough to notice that there were indeed other people in the room. It was at that point the Yang-look alike, Raven presumably, pushed the one who looked like Ruby away. Her fiery eyes suddenly lost their sheen, the all-consuming fire in them dying down, as the smaller one struggled to at least look decently.

Quite suddenly, Pyrrha was acutely aware of just how much she did not want to be here.

"What's, um, what's going on?" Ruby was the one to break the silence.

Yang glanced at Ruby – and by extension Pyrrha, considering the smaller girl was sitting on her lap – with eyes starting to blur from tears, before pointing at the older, taller of the two newcomers. "Mom… it's… mom."

"Raven, what the hell are you doing here…" Qrow shook his head as he staggered on the spot, his slurring only getting worse, "why are you here?"

"Well, I thought that since it's a weekday, you," Raven pointed a finger at Taiyang, "would be at Signal, and the brats would be at Beacon, and you…" Crimson eyes narrowed, "why are you even here, you don't even live here, Qrow."

The other woman groaned after a moment. "It's the twenty-fifth, isn't it? Damn it, Raven."

"How was I supposed to know that anyone was going to be here? It's a fucking Monday – I didn't think anyone was going to be here at nine in the morning!"

"Well, clearly you were wrong." The Ruby-look alike let out an annoyed huff.

"Hey, don't you talk back to me!"

"I'll talk back as much as I want-"

Before anyone could react, Raven grabbed the woman by the throat, the Ruby-look alike not even putting up the smallest struggle as she was lifted into the air…

…which in turn only made the fire in her eyes start to smolder once more.

"This is what happens when you misbehave." Raven's voice was ladened with lust, "a pet should know their plac-ah!"

The choking woman's hands latched onto Raven and started to glow brightly, causing her to jerk back and let go. "I'm sorry," Pyrrha heard no sincerity in it, "but remind me again, who was the 'pet' last night, hm?"

Pyrrha couldn't quite see what happened next, as Raven suddenly threw the woman to the ground, before dropping on top of her, pinning her, and blocking the redhead's view of what was going on.

"You are _my_ pet, not the other way around." The assertion came out as a growl before a very high pitch moan came out from the other woman. "You are _mine_."

"Raven."

"Mine and mine onl-"

"RAVEN!"

"WHAT?!"

"WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"

"I FORGOT SOMETHING!"

"YOU'RE JUST REMEMBERING THAT NOW, AFTER TWENTY YEARS?!" By this point Raven and Qrow were standing inches apart, screaming at each other.

"NOT THAT, ASSHOLE, SOMETHING ELSE!"

"WHAT THE HELL IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN HER?!" Qrow gestured to wide-eyed blonde girl.

"EVERYTHING ELSE!"

"WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?!"

As the Branwen siblings shouted at each other, the couch shifted slightly, as the other woman sat down with a glass with wine… and the accompanying bottle, pilfered from the kitchen. While she had clearly decided to adjust her clothes – not that they could really be called clothes, more like thin strips of fabric – to something slightly more presentable, that did little to end the growing, unsettling feeling that emanated from her; the kind that sent a shiver down Pyrrha's spine.

"I don't suppose that either one of you would be related to Summer Rose?" Even over the shouting, Pyrrha could clearly hear the woman's tone; it felt soft, even seductive… yet there was an undeniable amount of controlled power laced through out it.

"T-that's my mom," Ruby answered after a moment. "…d-did you know her?"

"Only by name." The woman sipped from the glass, before a look of disappointment briefly flashed across her face, "I suppose I expected too much from provincial swill."

"I'm sorry if this is too forward, but…" burning amber eyes focused on her, analyzing her, picking Pyrrha apart piece by piece, "…who are you?"

"…I suppose that _would_ be proper." The woman noted after a moment or two, taking another sip of wine. "You may call me Cinder."

"I'm-"

"Pyrrha Nikos." Cinder noted, before glancing at her girlfriend, "which would make _you_ , Ruby Rose." Her eyes didn't linger long enough to see the nod. "Well, Pyrrha, Ruby, this day seems to be going poorly all around." She scornfully regarded the siblings who were _still_ screaming at each other, "you're lovely family get together doesn't seem to be doing very well, and my prey seems to have gotten… _distracted_."

She let out a sigh, "There is no strap-on in the world that is worth _this_."

Normally, such a comment would have gotten lost in the yelling, except for this being one of the few moments of quiet since Qrow and Raven had to breathe at some point. It was in this quiet that Taiyang finally spoke up.

"You came here, after TWENTY YEARS, for a sex-toy?" The incredulity was so thick, that it seeped from his voice at the mere notion of why Raven returned.

Crimson eyes focused on him, "It was a really fucking _good_ sex-toy, I'll have you know!"

"THAT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAN YANG?!"

"IT IS WHEN YOU ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF FUCKING A WOMAN, WHY YES IT IS!"

Something clicked for Qrow, causing him to finally turn away from his sister, and to Taiyang, with something that almost sounded like a snicker, "you let Raven peg you?"

"What?! NO!"

As Pyrrha was trying her best to not stare at the two men, or Raven – who was now cackling – her gaze happened across Yang… who was somehow looking on the verge of tears, disgusted, and like she was about to laugh at the same time.

"-haaa, Tai wished I did, but it wasn't him."

"Then who the hell did you use it on?"

"Summer."

Silence reigned supreme once more, before Ruby started to gag, "I think I'm going to be sick!"

As Pyrrha comfortingly patted her and started to scan for a nearby trash can, Raven decided that it was the best time to rub salt into the wound. "And I wouldn't have stopped using it, if that jackass hadn't forgotten to wear protection and the bitch decided to raise a family and then die."

The gagging stopped as Ruby went completely still.

A second passed.

Then another.

Soft sobbing started to fill the room, as Ruby cried into Pyrrha's shoulder. That was tipping point for Qrow, who decked Raven in the face, knocking off the sadistic smile across her face and into a snarl, as she swung back at him. Instead of taking it, Qrow morphed into a crow, with Raven quickly following suit. Angry squawks of birds filled the room, as a raven and a crow clawed and pecked at each other in a mid-air free-for-all.

The bird fight ended with Raven un-morphing, grabbing the cane-sized candy cane still under the pine tree and hitting Qrow with it so hard that the cane snapped in two. It knocked the avian form of Ruby's uncle into the tree, snapping it in the middle, leaving an unconscious Qrow and a broken tree as the only survivors.

Wild-eyed, with hair splayed out behind her, Raven stared daggers at the remaining members of her family, "Does anyone else want some, eh? No? Well fuck you, I'm leaving!" Unsheathing the sword at her waist, she sliced another blood red portal into existence.

"That seems to be my cue." Cinder handed Pyrrha her glass, who numbly accepted it before the raven-haired woman stood up, the bottle still in hand, "I would say it has been a pleasure, but then I'd be lying..."

With that, she walked through the portal.

It was an act that Raven seemed like she was about to repeat, except for the robotic hand latched onto her arm.

"For the love of dust, what now?" Crimson eyes stared into their mirror image. "What do _you_ want?"

"I-I know you aren't here to see me, or that you ever want to see me again…" Yang's voice was heavy, yet despite the growing tears her eyes burned blood red still. "But-"

"I saved you." Raven's voice was full of indignation as if Yang was accusing her of something so utterly false it was inconceivable.

"S-so that wasn't a dream-"

"The strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must." Crimson eyes darted to the robotic arm that had finally let go of her. "You are suffering and therefore you are weak." Those eyes flickered back to Yang, regarding her with disdain. "I was right to not intervene."

"I… that's… wait." Something clicked in Yang's head, as her eyes returned to their normal lilac colour. "You… knew…?"

"The weak die, and the strong survive. That's the rule." Yang's flesh and blood hand was digging deep enough into her upper arm that blood was beginning to freely flow, "Clearly, you aren't strong, so what is there to gain from talking to a weakling who won't survive, like you, _Yang Xiao Long_?"

When no response was forthcoming, Raven made an annoyed clicking noise with the back of her throat and stepped towards the portal.

"You are a horrible person." The accusation bubbled forth from Pyrrha, "…an evil, violent woman. Do you even have a heart?"

The crimson eyes coldly regarded Pyrrha for the first time. "It died with Summer."

It was with those words, Raven closed the distance and vanished, along with the portal.

With the intruders gone, everything quieted down for a moment, besides Ruby's sobs.

Wordlessly, Yang all but ran towards the garage door, tears streaming down her cheeks, as Blake followed closely on her heels. The door opened and slammed shut, before familiar motorcycle engine was revved and drove off.

Which just left Ruby, Pyrrha, Taiyang, and an unconscious crow.

The number only lessened as Taiyang took a look at Ruby and Pyrrha, and robotically walked towards his open bedroom, closing the door. From what little Pyrrha had seen of him, he looked shattered, as if he was drop off in a desert without a life-line… lost. However, Pyrrha had more pressing matters to deal with, namely her girlfriend who was crying against her shoulder.

 _What should I say?_ Words were failing Pyrrha, as she couldn't think of a single thing, not a singular thing that could in anyway lessen what had just happened. In the absence of words, she did the only thing she could think of, pulling Ruby into a tight hug. Pyrrha might not have shown it much, but she wanted that hug as much as Ruby clearly did. _I just wanted to spend Dustmas together as a happy family…_ clearly the universe had taken issue with that in the form of Raven Branwen. She hugged Ruby tighter.

Minutes ticked by as the sobbing lessened, the warm tears eventually stopped dripping down, onto Pyrrha.

"Yang's mom is mean."

"Yeah." The words sounded child-like, but were completely true – though Pyrrha had some rather more… negative ways to describe the woman. "Do… do you think Yang is going to be okay?"

Ruby nodded into the crook of Pyrrha's neck, "Blake's with her and she usually keeps Yang from doing anything too dangerous."

"That's good." It was hard to find a way to break the awkward silence, as Pyrrha flailed about, trying to figure out what to say.

"D-Do you think she was lying?" Pyrrha had to strain to hear Ruby's voice. "About my mom?" She sounded like she was on the verge of tears again.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not." Pyrrha struggled for a response. "I-

"I... I don't know which is worse." Ruby cut her off. "Either mom and her…" The smaller girl shivered. "Or it was dad and her with a, um, yeah… I don't know which is worse."

"Perhaps she wasn't such a… mean individual back then?" Pyrrha helpfully suggested.

The trace of a sad smile crossed Ruby's lips.

That left Pyrrha right back where she had started; in the grips of a stifling silence, albeit a slightly more comfortable silence than before, as the smaller girl seemed considerably happier. Even her breathing finally calmed down, no longer the erratic pace it had been at as when the tears had been flowing.

"I-It's not usually like this…"

Ruby's voice was barely above a whisper, yet Pyrrha heard it all the same. "U-usually, we open presents and dad makes a big breakfast… and then w-we watch movies… or go sledding…"

Pyrrha's mouth opened and then closed. What Ruby needed, or at least wanted, was normalcy, which was something that Pyrrha was going to try and provide, "…what does your dad usually make?"

Curious silver eyes regarded her, tears having caked the corners of her eyes. "Um, pancakes?"

Pyrrha gave the most reassuring smile she could muster, as she stood up, effortlessly keeping Ruby in a tight embrace, cradling the smaller huntress. "It may not be as good as your dad's, but I do live with Lie Ren."

The comment made new tears start to form, albeit accompanied by a smile, as Ruby pecked her girlfriend on the lips, "I love you. So much."

"I love you too."

* * *

While Pyrrha would never say that she was a 'good' cook, she certainly felt that Ren would have at least given her a passing mark on the pancakes, as she and Ruby went about making them. Well, it was mostly Pyrrha, given that Ruby was wrapped around her waist, unwilling to let go of her.

By the time that they were done, the smell of food had lured Taiyang out of his room and even Yang had returned with Blake, her eyes red from crying but looking far more together than when she had left.

The sound of silverware cutting and food being consumed filled the air, with little talk, the air of holiday cheer only slowly starting to return.

"…who here is in favour of never mentioning that ever again?"

Everyone's hand raised immediately in response to Yang's question.

Yet conversation did not return – while Pyrrha was sure that no one was going to say anything about it… it was still on everyone's mind.

"So Pyrrha," Yang started, having demolished her stack of pancakes and needing something to focus everyone on besides the purple elephant in the room. "Did Ren teach you how to make these?"

"Ruby did, actually." The girl in question, made a confused sound. "Remember, when we were on a mission and Nora was the team leader?"

"Wait Nora was the team leader?" Blake's usually calm and collected voice was full of incredulity. "Nora was team leader over Weiss?"

Ruby nodded energetically, "Yeah! It was kinda awesome, come to think of it…"

"Isn't that the girl with the hammer?" Taiyang asked after a moment. "The one who won the first match at the Vytal tournament?"

"Yup!" While Ruby may have answered, Pyrrha felt a bit of pride for her team swell up in her.

"Okay but… Nora as team leader." Blake didn't seem to be able to grasp the concept. "How… why…"

"It was pretty _awesome_." Ruby nodded vigorously, "like…"

While Ruby excitedly talked about every facet of the mission, something occurred to Pyrrha, "…why do we have six chairs out?"

"…for Uncle… Qrow…?" Silver eyes widened, before a trail of rose petals fluttered down to the ground, leading to the living room. "ZWEI NO! UNCLE QROW ISN'T A CHEW TOY!"

Pyrrha only got a glimpse of the corgi with a crow in his mouth, before Ruby rubbed the dog's belly, causing him to involuntarily drop the unconscious bird. "Bad dog!"

The corgi clearly knew those words, as his ears folded back and he sadly waddled away. "Dad! How do we wake up uncle Qrow?"

When Pyrrha glanced at the man, she could tell that the first response that had come to mind had been something rather less than kind, as he was snickering. "I suppose we could just toss him out in the snow, and the cold will wake him up."

"Won't he freeze out there?" Concern laced through Ruby's voice. "It's like fifteen degrees below freezing out… out…" Silver eyes widened in horror, causing Pyrrha to notice Zwei walking back into the room.

Except, he wasn't alone. Rather he was dragging a very weirdly shaped object which was covered in straps, before dropping it in front of Ruby. Yet, that wasn't the end of the whole story, as once it landed, it started to vibrate obscenely.

Any semblance of the normal holiday cheer coming back was now officially shattered.

Silver eyes looked imploringly into emerald ones.

"So next year, we're spend the holidays with your family, Pyrrha?"

* * *

AU: I bet no one was expecting that, eh?

So a bit of backstory; when I was writing the Thanksgiving special, I was wondering about who all would realistically show up, and clearly Raven came to mind. Then I started to think "man, that'd be awkward for Ruby." That thought morphed into "yknow what is even more awkward? Watching another family fight/have drama." Hence why we get Pyrrha watching _this_.

This is why I asked a few weeks back if people were going to be okay with this crazy idea I had that was super cracked and the response I got was a resounding YES... AND HERE WE ARE

By far, this is the longest Spoon Equality chapter by a wide, wide margin. I don't think we'll get many chapters of this length, considering that I had a bit of free time to work on this, and I usually only do this in a day, and not over the course of a week…

Tl;dr: this is what happens when I get something like twenty reviews telling me to do my worst :P

Tho, I have to wonder... what did you think of it? The chapter, that is.

In other news… _Acceptance_ editing is proceeding and should be released on January 1st of 2017. I think that's about it?

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day and enjoys the holidays! :D

…well, at least more than Pyrrha and Ruby did…


	66. Chapter 66

"How was your Dustmas?"

It was an innocent question, one that Ruby knew was being asked earnestly by her partner as they sat on a couch in the commons room, celebrating the last night of the year. Perhaps even asked out of concern, given that everyone – Ruby, Blake, Yang and Pyrrha – were being extremely quiet about it.

"It was… Well, you see… Um…" Consequently, Ruby wanted to give some kind of real answer, _it's simple; just tell your best friend that Yang's mom showed up, ruined everything and said that my mom died because I was born, before knocking uncle Qrow out and… yeah I'm not going to say that…_

Luckily, Pyrrha came in for the save, scooching up to Ruby's side of the couch. "It was eventful." A single white eyebrow rose in question, only for Pyrrha to shake her head.

"Ah."

"Sufficed to say, we're all rather glad to be back here." Ruby vigorously nodded along, "how was your trip to Atlas?"

Given the rather understandable amount of drama that had happened, Ruby had completely forgotten that they hadn't been the only ones to travel. "Didn't you say Winter was going to be there?" At the mention of her elder sister's name, Ruby swore Weiss's face lit up for a moment before her lips arched down into a frown.

"Sadly she got called away on work."

Weiss was surprisingly tight lipped about her family, something that Ruby had picked up from the beginning; _the only one she ever talks about is Winter…_ "Well… did you at least get to see Penny?" Ruby asked.

"Regrettably, my flight was cancelled due to weather." Weiss merely shrugged. "So I spent the week here."

"If we'd known that, we would have left sooner… you didn't go crazy without any school work or us around?"

"I survived, somehow."

For a moment, Ruby swore she saw Weiss smile as icy blue eyes focused on something behind the redhead. Not smile, as in your average, run of the mill happy smile, but the kind of smile that seemed dopey. Unrefined. Like the kind that was always plastered on Ruby's face whenever Pyrrha so much as looked in her general direction. Yet as quickly as Ruby noticed it, it was gone.

Silver eyes darted towards the direction her partner was looking at… only to find Ren and Nora talking. Well, more like Nora talking and Ren listening. _Ren and Nora always stay over break… so that means Weiss got to hang out with them?_ Quite suddenly, it clicked; the source of Weiss' happy grin.

"Did Ren make his super-special pancakes while we were gone?!"

Weiss was taken aback, confusion crossing her face before she blinked. "…yes?"

"Crapbaskets, we missed them again." Ruby made a sad noise before Pyrrha's hand squeezed her own.

"I have a way to make it up."

The way Pyrrha said that had _all_ of Ruby's attention. "H-how's that?"

"Now that we aren't at your father's house and there is still a few hours left until midnight..." Ruby lost herself in emerald eyes, " perhaps we could make up for lost time?"

The idea certainly held merit given the awkwardness of getting caught by her dad last time meant that they had been relatively chaste during the trip. With only an exception or two…

The two of them disappeared in a cloud of rose petals, the lock on team RWBY's dorm clicking shut.

* * *

Idly playing with Pyrrha's hair, Ruby had decided she was fine with missing Ren's pancakes if she got to do this every time. Then again, three hours of cuddling and kissing your girlfriend with no fear of interruptions tends to change one's mind rather easily. It was surprising just how much Ruby had missed being able to spend even a few minutes alone with Pyrrha, without the fear of her dad walking into the room; _despite all the teasing Yang gives us, at least she does gives us privacy…_

"Do you think we should get back to the party?" Pyrrha asked tentatively, "Not that this isn't lovely!" She held her hands up defensively – or as much as she could, given their position around Ruby, "But, the countdown is going to happen soon…"

"I guess so…" Reluctantly, Ruby extracted herself from her girlfriend's arms, before giving a huge stretch and plopping to her feet. While some of the reluctance came from being nice and comfortable, that wasn't the whole reason. She didn't have to be a genius to know the moment she left the room, Yang was going to be winking at her and teasing her for the rest of the night. _A small price to pay for being left alone._

"Hey, there are my two favourite love birds!" Lo and behold, Ruby wasn't surprised the moment Yang slid up to the two as they entered the common room – after straightening their clothes out first. "Catchin' up, I see?"

Ruby mumbled out a flustered response as she tucked her head against Pyrrha's shoulder, letting herself be led to where the rest of their friends had gathered. Namely, crowded around the TV screen, as a live-feed to Mistral's firework's display was airing. Snacks and pizza littered the table the group had commandeered, Ruby snagging a slice or two before rejoining her friends. More notably, however, was the alcohol that almost everyone had clearly been drinking in the time that the two redheads had left - some more than others, _I don't think I've ever seen Weiss drink more than a glass of wine before…_

"Soooo, what are your new year's resolutions?" Yang asked the moment the two sat down on the couch, "mine's to spend more time with Bumblebee." The blonde pouted, "I think I only rode her twice last year…"

"To kill all the Grim-" A throw-pillow went flying into Ruby's face.

"You say that every year!"

"Well, it's true!"

"Laaameeeee!" Yang rolled her eyes.

Amber eyes glanced up from behind a book cover, "Says the person who's resolution is to ride a motorcycle more."

"Well, what's your resolution?"

A single eyebrow quirked up, "…Fight the inequality the world is riddled with."

Yang's retort died on her lips, as Ruby busied herself with consuming lukewarm pizza. "To go back to your earlier question Yang, I'd say the same resolution from last year," Pyrrha pipped up, having been waiting to give her answer. "Be a better girlfriend to Ruby."

"Mhmm-mm, sorry, Pyrrha you're already the perfect girlfriend!" Ruby countered the moment she finished her pizza.

"I can't be the perfect girlfriend, since that's you," Pyrrha responded without missing a beat, playfully sticking out her tongue, prompting a bright blush to spread across Ruby's cheeks as she mumbled something out unintelligibly.

"You're both good girlfriends," Ren dryly noted, clearly not wanting to listen to the same argument that happened every week. "My resolution is to try a different kind of tea. Nora?"

Nora gleefully jumped up. "To break someone's legs!"

"…"

"…okay, but whose?"

Nora shrugged, "I dunno, but it sounds fun?" Turquoise eyes focused on Ruby's partner. "What about your resolution, Weiss?"

"…"

Ruby nudged her partner, who made an undignified noise of protest.

"Weisssss!"

"I don't have to share if I don't want to."

"I mean, yeah, but then you're a party pooper." Yang chimed in.

"I don't… do that to parties." Ruby could swear she heard Weiss making a gagging noise, "I just don't feel the need to say it out loud."

"Laaameeee!"

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response."

"Yeah, well-"

"Less than a minute left," Ren noted, as all eyes turned away from Weiss and back to the screen, as a big ball of Dust was about to be dropped. It was in that moment that a distinct sense of déjà vu hit Ruby.

 _Everyone is going to stare at us when we kiss like last year?_

One of the customs of New Years that Ruby had only recently been able to partake in was kissing your significant other for good luck when the year turned. Given that they were the only couple in the room – much like last year – everyone was going to stare.

There was something uniquely awkward about knowing that was going to happen; sure, Ruby and Pyrrha had clearly slunk away from the party to make out for a couple of hours and everyone, _everyone_ knew it and yet… there was something that made it more awkward to know that people were going to be waiting for them to kiss in a handful of seconds.

Fortunately for Ruby – or unfortunately depending on the outlook – there was only so much anxiety that could be wrought in a mere minute.

"Three! Two! One!"

With anticipation building up in her Ruby stood on her toes as Pyrrha bent down, hands meshing through her hair as the two welcomed the New Year in with a loving kiss. It was a kiss that Ruby was unwilling to break until air was needed, slowly pulling away and ready for all eyes to be locked on to them. Except...

Without a certain pair of lips to distract her, it was only then that Ruby noticed just how quiet the room was all of the sudden – even Yang wasn't making a sound of protest over their blatant display. Ruby understood why in a matter of seconds as her silver eyes found the source of everyone's focus.

There was another pair kissing. Not just any pair; one of them was Ruby's very own partner, who had grabbed the other by the shoulders-

 _Nora?!_

* * *

AU: Who could have possibly seen this happening, what a twis- right, I've been hinting at this for over half a year now.

Quite a few of you have guessed at this happening, so kudos for actually getting it right… I told you the second year of Spoon Equality was going to get more interesting and I wasn't lying :P

I don't have much to say today, besides new chapter of Dilation will follow along with Acceptance in a little bit! Sorry for no chapter last week, the website was acting up on me and that's the story of that.

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	67. Chapter 67

"Pyrrha."

Pyrrha felt the land of dreams start to slip away, as a voice penetrated her sleep-addled mind.

"Pyrrha!" Yet the entity wouldn't give up, no matter how much the redhead grumbled, or tried to tuck herself tighter against her girlfriend.

"Pyrrha wake up!" Unfortunately for her, someone most definitely wanted her awake, as firm hands shook her violently, "Please wake up! Pretty please?!"

It took Pyrrha a moment to place the voice, emerald eyes blearily cracking open, "Nora?"

"H-Hey Pyrrha…" The person certainly looked like and sounded like Nora; turquoise eyes, orange hair, and rather short, except…

There were dark circles under her eyes, and those same eyes held none of their usual exuberance in them. While Pyrrha would never say Nora was exactly relaxed – the smaller girl was always filled with nearly boundless energy and could barely sit still sometimes – she looked the opposite of relaxed. It was a very subtle difference; Nora would rock back and forth on her feet all the time, but that was from being about a second away from ready to run a mile, not from worry. Or how her eyes were darting around, not out of curiosity or boredom, but out of anxiety.

Slowly, Pyrrha untangled herself from around Ruby, her other half making a faint noise of protest before clutching the blanket tightly as Pyrrha sat up, her long legs dangling off the bed. "Is something the matter?"

Nora nodded, her mannerisms not far off from a kid who was about to fess up that they stole a pencil from school. "Y-yeah. Weiss kissed me!"

Emerald eyes blinked, as the events of last night slowly came back to the forefront of Pyrrha's head. _Right. That was a thing._ "I sa-"

Small hands gripped Pyrrha's shoulders so forcefully that it was painful, as Nora's nose nearly bumped into Pyrrha's. "Weiss! Kissed! Me!"

"Yes, she did." Pyrrha had been surprised at it as well, though the surprise was undercut with worry considering Weiss had blacked out immediately afterwards.

"What do I do?"

"Kiss her back?"

"WHAT DO I DO?!" Pyrrha's world started to spin as Nora shook her, causing stars to fill the tall redhead's vision. "I need helpful suggestions, Pyrrha, plus, she passed out like right afterwards, maybe she was just super-duper drunk-"

"Nora!" Pyrrha weakly protested as her whole body was like a boat being battered by tsunami-level waves.

"-and didn't really mean it? What if we can't go back to normal, and I try to kiss her and it wasn't the right thing and she hates me-"

"Nora…"

"-and then she never talks to ever again, and that causes' you and Ruby to have drama and then everything starts to crumble-"

"No…ra…"

"-I couldn't possibly ever cause my best friend to lose her girlfriend because I kissed Weiss- …Pyrrha?"

"I-I'm fine." The shaking finally stopped, leaving Pyrrha feeling that if she was a cartoon character, her eyes would be spinning in opposite directions. With the world not moving, the girl was at last able to get her bearings, and give an actual reply. "Do you like Weiss?"

Turquoise eyes blinked. "She's an awesome friend and we've been hanging out a lot."

Pyrrha resisted the urge to roll her eyes, but instead kept her voice level. "Not quite what I meant, Nora. Do you like-like her?"

"O-oh." Nora's face lit up like a Dustmas tree, accompanied by a flustered smile. "I…uh… um… she's really pretty and seems like she doesn't like anything fun, but she's actually a lot of fun when it's just us…so…maybe-sorta-kinda-yes…"

 _I've been wondering about that… Nora certainly has been making a lot of effort to hang out with Ruby's partner as of late, so I suppose it makes sense._ A smile lit up Pyrrha's face, as she slowly asked the next question, "Do you think that Weiss likes you in the same way?"

Nora's smile vanished, as she mournfully shook her head, prompting Pyrrha to raise an eyebrow in disbelief.

"I noticed that you two have become rather close lately, especially since we got back from Patch… are you sure she doesn't like you?" Even Pyrrha had noticed that Weiss had been acting a lot more… friendly with Nora as of late; _ever since Nora was put in charge of our mission with Ruby and Weiss, they've been getting closer._

"I… I don't think so?" Nora offered pessimistically after a few seconds, her whole posture deflated. "Like she spent a lot of time hanging out with me during the break, but that doesn't mean anything… it's not like there was a lot to do with everyone else gone…"

"She could have studied for the next semester, or caught up with reading the books that Blake suggested to her," Pyrrha helpfully noted. "But instead she spent the whole break with you, or so it sounds, so I wouldn't be too sure."

"Yeah, well-"

"There has been a few times, where I caught her staring at you with a huge blush on her face." It was something that Pyrrha had started to notice in the handful of days since she had returned from Patch, _especially last night._

Nora's mouth gaped open for a second. "She could have just been hot."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…okay so maybe she likes me…" The confused look in her eyes became more hopeful, as the smile returned to her lips, "But what do I do about it?" Nora looked up at Pyrrha imploringly, clearly wanting some definitive answer she thought her friend held.

"I… don't rightly know?" Yet Pyrrha knew no answer for what Nora was seeking, causing her to frown. "I'm sorry."

"You're the one in a relationship, what did you do to get with Ruby?"

"Oh." Heat started to swell in Pyrrha's face, as her hand instinctively sought out Ruby's, their fingers meshing together. "I asked her out."

Pyrrha could have sworn that Nora was staring at her, not even blinking for a solid two minutes before finally speaking. "And…?"

"She said yes."

"That's it?"

Pyrrha nodded, eliciting a groan from Nora. "Ugggghhhh. But what if she says no?"

"…she kissed you – I'm pretty sure Weiss isn't going to say no at this point, Nora."

Nora went still for a moment, before a huge smile overtook her face. "You're right! Thanks Pyrrha, you're the bestest friend ever!" Pyrrha barely had a moment to feel relief at helping her friend before being enveloped in a hug that threatened to push the very air out of her lungs and seemingly crushed her arms.

Fortunately for her, Nora let go after a few seconds and merrily skipped out of the room.

"Well… that was a thing," Pyrrha dryly noted before glancing at her alarm clock, debating the pros and cons of going back to bed-

A pair of warm arms wrapped around her stomach, as lips pressed in a gentle kiss on the back of her neck. "I thought I asked you out."

"Good morning, Ruby." A sweet smile tugged at the corners of Pyrrha's lips. "I remember asking you out."

"Nu-uh, pretty sure I did." Another kiss came, as Pyrrha made a small happy noise. "And I can prove it."

"Oh?"

"…but then we'd have to leave the bed."

A giggle escaped Pyrrha's lips, as she let Ruby guide her back down to the sheets, before pulling Ruby against her for some morning cuddles.

"I suppose I'll just have to take your word for it."

* * *

AU: The ship is being boarded, stuff is happening :P

Nora nearly killing Pyrrha was fun to write hehe.

I was a little surprised at the muted response for the response for the past two chapters; don't get me wrong, its above the curve but not by much… :|

Anywho, question time:

Is everyone cool with having characters where the vast amount of it doesn't have to do with Pyrrha and Ruby's relationship? If no, you really do need to speak up at this point, else I'll take it as a no.

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	68. Chapter 68

**NOTE:** So I know that everyone is probably expecting some Nora and Weiss stuff this chapter, but…

It's been a good MONTH since I published a normal Spoon Equality chapter, and I kinda wanted to do that this, if that's cool with everyone? I mean if it's not, I kinda did it already, sorry…

* * *

"Soooo what do you want to do today?"

Pyrrha gave a slight shrug, as Ruby sat on the edge of the bed. "Whatever you want to do, Ruby. What would you like to do?"

"I dunno." Ruby had to stop herself from letting out a long, pained sigh, _I was hoping Pyrrha would have an idea… sorta why I asked…_

It was one of those rare days, where there was no school work to be done, and everyone else on their teams were busy with something or another. Usually this would be perfect for going on a date… except it was cold outside – which took away most of what they usually did. Or that they'd watched every movie they owned, thus taking away a lazy movie day. And the airbus had just left, meaning it'd be a few hours wait if they wanted to go to the city.

 _What to do?_

Ruby glanced towards her usual answer to such a problem only to grimace, _I reaaally don't want to spend the day getting my butt kicked by Pyrrha in Ninja Fighter VI_. So that was out of the picture.

 _We could spar?_ That sounded like a great idea… if Ruby hadn't listened to Nora's workout advice and every part of her was still sore from yesterday… _how does Pyrrha do it?!_

While indecision kept its paralytic hold on Ruby, a muscled arm snaked around her torso, pulling her into Pyrrha's lap effortlessly. "We don't have to do anything today," Pyrrha noted, having picked up on Ruby's plight. "It'd be lovely to just cuddle all day."

Pyrrha's suggestion held a certain seductive easiness to it; _I wouldn't even have to move, or leave the room…or the bed…_ Ruby's inner laziness was finding that notion particular quite appealing, as her girlfriend easily started to pull her into an embrace, wrapping the comforter around them…

…only for Ruby's stomach to make an unearthly noise of protest.

Ruby's face flushed red with embarrassment as she could feel Pyrrha shaking, clearly trying to stifle her laughter. "It's not funny." The teen weakly protested.

"I-I know, I'm sorry." Ruby craned her head up, looking into emerald eyes where the mirth was still clear.

"Pyrrhaaaa!" The redhead ducked back behind Ruby, as her body continued to tremble with barely concealed laughter.

"I'm sorry," Pyrrha repeated, before taking a deep breath and letting it out. "But, I know what we could do."

"Eat lunch?" That sounded amazing to Ruby right now, especially as her stomach let out another growl.

"Well, yes, that too, _but_ …" Pyrrha paused for a moment, "…I was thinking we could make cookies."

Instantly, Ruby's lips were pressed against Pyrrha's, her arms wrapped around the girl's neck, pulling her tightly against her. The kiss was heated and deep and ended just as quickly, as Ruby broke away, jumping off the bed, and pulling Pyrrha by the hand.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Ruby." Pyrrha said with a breathless voice, letting herself be guided out of the room.

* * *

"I could have sworn we had more cookie dough…"

Pyrrha studied the container with a confused look, while Ruby looked guiltily at the floor of the communal kitchen. "Do you think we'll be able to make two dozen still? Is that alright, Ruby?" Worry pulled at her smile, clearly not wanting to disappoint her girlfriend.

"It… it should be fine." Ruby assured her, finally looking up from the ground, her hands coming up in a placating fashion. "I'll make do." That got a smile out of the taller girl, who went back to taking the pre-packaged cookie dough and placing it on the tray, arranging the lumpy bits. Just ten minutes until cookies!

Except…

The growling in Ruby's stomach didn't want to wait that long to be sated.

Silver eyes glanced towards Pyrrha, who was busy arranging it on the metal tray, before narrowing on the container, before darting back to her girlfriend, while a hand reached out to the container, grabbing a clump of it. Slowly, ever so slowly, she brought it up to her mouth, before taking a big chomp out of it. She couldn't help but let out a sound of contentment, eyes half open, as the delicious mixture-

"What are you doing?" Ruby's eyes shot open, only to find Pyrrha next to her, emerald eyes staring at the half eaten ball of cookie dough.

"I…uh, was…um… taste testing it. Yeah." Ruby nodded to herself, a bit too fast. "Just making sure it was good enough for the cookies, 'cause, y'know… pre-packaged stuff isn't, um, always as goo-"

"Doesn't that have raw eggs in it?"

"…yes." Ruby guiltly admitted. "But, BUT!" She grabbed the package before dramatically pointing to a small little blurb on the back. "They are safe to eat!"

Emerald eyes widened. "They are?"

"Yup!"

"O-Oh." Pyrrha stared at the container with renewed focus as something occurred to Ruby.

"Hey Pyrrha…"

"Hm?"

"You've had cookie dough before, right?"

Crimson hair swished as Pyrrha shook her head.

Ruby's arms flailed around for a moment, "Whaaa, you got to try it!" She offered what was left in her hand, "It tastes really good!"

Pyrrha warily looked at the offering, before pinching off a very small bit and tentatively taking a bite. Quite immediately, a happy noise came spilling forth, as she took more off the clump that Ruby had. "See, it's really, really good!"

"I would have never of thought to eat it…" To be fair, Ruby was certain that Pyrrha's healthy eating had taken a huge hit from the moment they started dating, and eating raw cookie dough clearly wasn't going to change that assessment anytime soon. However, soon enough, there was none left, and looking back at the container, revealed that Ruby had taken the last bit of it… and even Ruby wasn't going to steal from the tray. Yet Pyrrha's eyes were not focused on the empty container, but on Ruby.

Gently, taking the hand that had been holding the dough, Pyrrha licked the palm of her hand, eliciting a surprised eep out of Ruby. That noise only got higher pitch when Pyrrha had finished cleaning the palm of her and moved over to her fingers, sucking them into her mouth, leaving each one clean before going to the next one.

By now, Ruby really didn't care that her stomach was growling, especially when Pyrrha looked up at her, her eyes dark with something predatory to them.

"I think you have some on your lips still."

* * *

AU: Then the oven dinged, and Ruby semblance over to it and ate all the cookies.

Yup.

I really don't got much to say this time around, other than I hope everyone is cool with me taking a break from the rather unusual (by Spoon Equality standards) string of chapters. Plus, I think it's adorable and it is a thing that would happen in Pyrruby; Pyrrha can never eat healthy again.

Thank you for reading, I hope you have a wonderful day! :D

P.S. Seriously, is it okay I did random Pyrruby?


	69. Chapter 69

Weiss weakly groaned as she tried to cocoon herself with blankets, blocking out the rays of sunshine coming through the windows.

 _Why did I drink so much?_

Certainly, Weiss was not one to usually drink more than just enough to be social, so being hungover was a wholly new experience for her. Despite sleeping for longer than she normally gave herself, she felt drop dead tired… and there was the fact that whatever she ate kept trying to worm itself back up from whence it came.

Perhaps the worst was the crazy dreams. Weiss didn't have many dreams that she remembered, and when she did, it was always an oddity. So the disorientating divulge of snippets of dreams that came from drinking far too much was an odd concept in it of itself for her. _They were particularly far-fetch, even for a dream_ , Weiss dryly noted as she lamely shuffled deeper into the sheets, _like raptors serving eggs for dinner or father loving me_. Slender fingers gripped the sheets tighter, _or kissing Nora. …that might be not so far-fetch.._. A very faint tinge of red coloured her cheeks as she dimly remembered her New Year's resolution; _I'm going to tell her how I feel. At some point. When the room stops spinning._

Yet more terrible than the nausea or even the bewildering dreams, was the pounding headache that plagued her. It was quite unlike any headache she had experienced, worse than when she'd ran out of aura, or had to pull an all-nighter for exam week. Even worse was that none of her teammates were around to hand her the painkillers, with Ruby spending the night in JNPR's dorm and the other two leaving some time ago. The throbbing pain only got worse as the pounding got loude-

Icy blue eyes opened. _Louder?_ Cautiously, the girl pulled the covers off her head, only for the painful sound to get louder. And then thunderous pounding got even louder. _What the- is that the door? Who in the world would-_

Shakily, Weiss got to her feet, making her way to the door. The moment she opened it, the pounding stopped. "What do you want…" Tired eyes attempted to focus with little success only to widen. "Nora?"

"H-Hey, Weiss!" Nora awkwardly waved, with her ever present-smile lighting up her expression, holding up Magnhild, clearly about to bash the door in. "How's your morning going?"

The hungover teen blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You drank like a lot last night and passed out, so I was going to see if you wanted to get some coffee, 'cause you always drink it…" Whatever composure that Nora had, vanished in a moment, under the burden of a single question as she almost anxiously rambled on and on. "…but you weren't picking up your scroll and weren't answering the door, and then I was like, 'what if Weiss got alcohol poisoning because she drank so much?' and so I was going to make sure you were okay-"

"By breaking down _my door_?" Weiss quietly commented, not that Nora seemed to notice, as she continued to spew words.

"-because you were really really drunk last night and passed out after you kissed me-"

"WHAT?!" Weiss screeched as Nora went on. _Oh fuck, that wasn't a dream?!_ Suddenly the nausea was what Weiss was feeling the most, as she felt sick to her stomach in more than just one way.

"-and I was sorta-kinda-maybe-hoping-you'd-go-on-a-date-with-me?"

"I…" Weiss' mouth opened before her eyes bugged out in panic, as her stomach truly had decided to revolt against her. It was a mad dash to the dorm's bathroom, which she only made it just in time to start retching into the toilet. The vile aftertaste of half-digested food did nothing to give Weiss any sense of relief as she gave another heave, dimly aware of the pitter-patter of someone walking on the bathroom tiles.

A moment or two later, calloused hands threaded through her long white hair. Trying to ask why led to another bout of heaving green-brown liquid into the white throne, the chunky slime running down her chin before plopping into the murky water below.

"...what are you _doing_?" Weiss groaned, at the feel of Nora's hands on her hair.

"Keeping your hair out of the toilet, silly!" Nora chimed back with a smile.

Weiss stifled a second groan. Not being in the habit of puking her stomach out, the thought hadn't even occurred to her. "...thank you." Which was about all she was able to get out before giving another retch, as the toilet only got fuller. The next, however, had nothing come up, resulting in the petite girl dry-heaving.

Then another. And another.

Throughout it all, Weiss felt a comforting hand on her back, rubbing gently, telling her that someone was there for her, even after she finally stopped puking as the two stayed in silence, giving her a moment to catch her breath.

"Did I really kiss you?" That was the first thing Weiss asked – besides rinsing out her mouth - after she finally trusted herself enough to not upchuck all over the orange-haired girl.

"Yup!" Nora nodded energetically, only for the nod to slow down immediately, "Don't you remember?"

White hair swayed ever so slightly, most of it still being held to the side by Weiss, "Yesterday is a haze to me."

"O-Oh." Nora's shoulders slumped, and it didn't take Weiss much to guess why; it meant a lot to her, and I don't remember any of it. "W-Well, maybe this was a bad idea…" Turquoise eyes were full of hurt, "Just forget I said anything about coffee-"

"No." Weiss' voice was hard as steel, despite the small teen feeling weak from vomiting. "I might not have remembered it, but that doesn't mean I didn't mean it." True, this perhaps wasn't the best place to confess her feelings to her crush, namely hungover and having bits of puke swirling in the toilet bowel below her, but Weiss was going to take her chance. "You are one of the few people, who treat me for who I am not what I am, and I always have fun when we are together, so why wouldn't I say yes to a coffee date?"

Weiss swore she saw hearts in Nora's eyes, as the orange haired girl pulled her into a tight hug, "You won't regret it! I swear! You'll-"

Whatever Nora was going to say was lost to Weiss, as her stomach made a groan of protest, a feeling that came out in the form of stomach acid escaping from her lips and spewing onto Nora's chest.

 _Your crush asks you out on a date and you puke on her… good job Weiss, good job…_

* * *

AU: …Weiss drank a lot, how else did you think it was going to turn out? :P

You know she's the one, when she holds your hair as you puke out your guts. What makes this particularly alarming is that this is Nora… her outfits tend to have a window right above her chest area, right where Weiss puked…

This is probably the most disgusting/gross chapter I've written, outside of something in which Pyrrha fought her way out of a giant Grimm!Centipede.

I'd like to take a moment and point out that Weiss and Nora got together on chapter 69.

The second ship has sailed – and probably the only other ship for the story! I actually do have reasons for name of the story itself; if Pyrrha and Ruby (who are still the main focuses) are the tall and small bit of Spoon Equality, what if it was equal size for spooning? …That makes more sense in my head, but essentially that. Plus I've been meaning to write these two for something like two years now. So there is also that.

I think what will happen is that Weiss and Nora will have chapters about once every month, and if happens more frequently than that, I'll have it be a double chapter, where the first half is Pyrruby and the second half is White Lightning. That sounds like a good idea. Yup.

Sound good to everyone?

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	70. Chapter 70

Pyrrha had learned long ago that Ruby had no idea just how _distracting_ she could be.

It wasn't in Ruby's character to intentionally be all that distracting – she wasn't like Yang, no. But Pyrrha noticed… things. Very particular things.

Like when her girlfriend happily skipped up to her and grabbed her hand. Despite the years the two had been dating, Pyrrha still felt like the happiest person in the world from such a simple gesture. Or when she rested her head against Pyrrha's shoulder. Such a tiny thing would still make her cheeks turn a shade redder than Ruby's cloak.

That, of course, didn't even possibly cover what she felt like when it was something more overt. Like whenever Ruby strained on her toes to give her a kiss. Each one elicited enough passion within her that Pyrrha was afraid that she might latch onto Ruby and never let her go. Or that she might grab Ruby and shanghai her to the nearest broom closet.

Yet there were other things that had a tendency of making the ability to speak suddenly be lost to her. Such as whenever the angle was just right, and Pyrrha happened to see just about any amount of bare skin… or whenever Ruby simply sat in the taller one's lap. Worse still was whenever Ruby simply licked her fingers clean of food. True, they were rather innocuous things, but they never failed to elicit a rise out of Pyrrha; something she had to bottle deep within her… at least until they were alone.

Possibly even better – or worse, depending on how one looked at it - was that every night, Ruby was hers.

Until their alarms went off, her rose was securely kept in a tight embrace, lovingly cradled against her. Just the comforting warmth that came from having her loved one that close to her never failed to bring a smile to Pyrrha's face. On the off-chance that Ruby happened to be the big spoon for the night, the effect was nearly the same; the tall redhead got to spend the entire night with the love of her life wrapped around her…

By far, the absolute, most terrible part was when they were apart.

It didn't happen often now; only on the select few times Pyrrha was called away for some PR event and couldn't take Ruby with her… or such as now, when Ruby's team was on a away-mission for a good week.

The absences made Pyrrha realize how much she truly missed Ruby… how much harder it was to fall asleep when there was no one to share warm with- to cuddle throughout the night. Or who made a silly joke whenever something just got a bit too serious. There was no one holding her hand, or sneaking kisses throughout class…

In these absences, Pyrrha couldn't help but think about what she would do the moment Ruby would get back; how she'd pull her into a kiss, how she would tell her just exactly how much she'd missed her rose. Maybe even just drag her girlfriend into an empty room and lock the door for a day or two… that or start gross crying about how much she loved her and never wanted to leave. Either or, really.

Moments like these, as she patiently waited at the landing pad for her girlfriend's scheduled return, made Pyrrha truly appreciate just how much she loved her girlfriend… and how distracting she always was… not that she would have it any other way. Ever.

All these emotions and more came spewing forth as a bullhead made its return, with a certain cloaked teen pressed up against one of the side windows, even visible from the ground. The moment the boarding ramp drop, there was a blur of rose petals before something soft and warm collided with Pyrrha.

"Ruby!"

"Pyrrha!"

Without even looking, Pyrrha pulled Ruby into the tightest hug she could muster, utterly happy with her rose's return. Ergo, it was only slowly that she became aware of the state that Ruby was in; her cloak was in a state of disrepair – the end of it looked like it had been through a shredder. There were numerous openings all over her leggings, showing recently healed bruises and scrapes, fresh scares marring the pale skin.

An urge to kiss it all better, to languish all of her rather considerable attention on Ruby, swelled up in Pyrrha… to show just how much she missed her girlfriend… to make Ruby have a night she'd never forget…

…if it wasn't for the fact that Ruby had started snoring a few seconds after jumping into Pyrrha's arms, utterly exhausted. _I suppose there is always next time…_ Pyrrha gave a small sigh, as she gently picked up Ruby, intent on giving her a warm bed to sleep in.

Truly, Ruby was the best distraction Pyrrha had ever had the pleasure of having in her life.

* * *

AU: Pyrrha loves her Rose.

This chapter is seriously from a thing on tumblr that goes:

Ruby: *does something probably innocuous but maybe super gay*

Pyrrha: *jpeg of Pyrrha looking at endless sand with the caption of "tortured by thirst"*

It's pretty much that, yup.

Truly, it's been rather odd writing all of this non-Ruby and Pyrrha time. I mean, sure they are here but they haven't been the main focus for a few chapters now… close to two months' time. So I'm glad to be back to that. I love my OTP so much, and it honestly has been low-key weird not writing them every weekend as the focus.

So next week is Valentine's Day, and while I have a plan for Weiss and Nora, I have nothing for Pyrrha and Ruby… so… any suggestions?

In other news, it's getting closer to the one year anniversary of a certain… date. So be a bit prepared for me to ramble next time. Probably. Sorry in advance for that.

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	71. Chapter 71

For once, everything was going right for the two redheads.

The sun was shining, well, as much as it would in the icy reaches of winter, and Pyrrha wasn't freezing to death despite being outside, albeit, because of her girlfriend snuggled up on her lap, her cape draped around them for added warmth.

Moreover, the two of them had gotten a nice block of time all to themselves and were, for all intents and purposes, alone. Alone on a park bench, with a couple boxes worth of handmade chocolate that they were feeding each other.

"Mmm, chocolate." A content noise purred from Ruby's lips, as her girlfriend plopped another chocolate into her mouth, the girl savouring the rich flavour of it. "Mmm, chocolate."

"Are you going to say that every time you eat one?" A giggle escaped from Pyrrha, which sounded like music to Ruby's ears. _I could never get tired of hearing her laugh… or smile… or being here_ … "It's just chocolate…"

"Nu-uh! It's not just chocolate!" Steely silver eyes stared up at emerald ones, full of conviction. "Its chocolate you made!" Her arms waved around. "There is a huge difference! It's like… a hundred times better than normal chocolate!"

Pyrrha's face gained a faint pink blush to it, as she bashfully looked away. "I'm not that good… and yours was a lot better than mine… you even put caramel in it." She pointed out, forever being adorably modest.

"Yeah, well, um…" When words failed Ruby, her response came in the form of a chocolate being fed to Pyrrha, cutting off any retort the elder one would have had. "Yours just taste better."

"No, this definitely taste better than mine… all of mine are just plain chocolate. " Pyrrha retorted, after she finished having a mouth-gasm of chocolate-y goodness. She picked up one of them, a simple ball of chocolate, and examined it, her eyebrows furrowing slightly. "They aren't even shaped like hearts."

Despite being more than a little proud at how well her chocolates were tasting, Ruby didn't want Pyrrha to feel any less about her own work. "But you made a lot more than I did, and uh… they taste really good…" Ruby mumbled before feeding another one of her intricate, heart shaped chocolates to Pyrrha. "I just really, really like yours."

That earned another giggle from Pyrrha, mirth shining in her eyes. "I suppose I can't argue with that logic." Ruby happily sighed as her girlfriend fed her another piece. "Do they really taste that good? They are rather… plain."

"Mhm!" The teen nodded so fast, it wouldn't have been odd if rose petals had started to form in the air. "They taste super duper good and yummy!"

A beautiful smile lit up Pyrrha's face at the compliment, eliciting an equally big smile from Ruby as the two kept feeding each other chocolate, secluded in their own little world, untouched by the world of snow and ice around them thanks to Ruby's cape.

What little awareness of what was going on around them vanished when Ruby stretched upwards, her lips gently meeting Pyrrha's in a slow kiss. The kind of kiss that they both loved more than any other kind; chocolate kisses.

Yet that wasn't the extent of Ruby's plans, as her tongue pushed a slightly melted ball of chocolate into Pyrrha's mouth before pulling away. "See, your chocolate does taste goo-mmh!"

Ruby didn't get a chance to finish as Pyrrha pulled her towards herself, their noses touching, cute giggles escaping from the tall redhead before soft, wet lips met hers. Unlike last time, Pyrrha apparently had no intention of letting Ruby get away, one of her hands lightly threading through her girlfriend's hair, the other hefting her by the butt up to her height. Not that Ruby had any complaints, as she melted into the embrace.

It wasn't very long until something gave out in this balancing act, as Ruby was slowly pushed backwards, and backwards until her back came to rest on the bench, with Pyrrha looming over her. Only then did Pyrrha finally pull away, if only to catch her breath.

"I think I found something that tastes even better than chocolate," Ruby muttered, much to Pyrrha's surprise. "Even better than your chocolate." The smaller girl stretched up for a quick on the lips, before settling back down.

"You."

* * *

AU: Super short fluffy Pyrruby Valentine's day chapter, yay!

So I have a fair bit to say today; couple of announcements and a few housekeeping things.

For one, I'm working on Acceptance chapter 27… it's just not likely to come out until the second anniversary of the story, i.e. March 15th. That's just how it is. Sorry for the wait on it, I really am D:

In other news, it's almost been a full year – tomorrow it will be the one year anniversary of the volume 3 finale. I know I said this last time around, but seriously, thank you to everyone who lend me their support during it. I was pretty darn heart broken when it happened, and seeing the outpour of support really did help me get through it, so thank you :D You guys and gals are the best! :P

So originally this chapter was going to be Weiss and Nora, except due to time constraints that most likely will be next weekend. Their date is supposed to be on Valentine's day, I just didn't have enough time or planning to make it work for this week, much like last year (because the finale and real life constraints). Real life has been busy in more than a few ways of late, hence why progress for writing has slow (and being at harder than usual roadblocks to write for in Acceptance). Thank you for bearing with me.

Again, thanks for bearing with me, I really don't know what I'd do without you, the reader, especially a year ago. Thank you so, so much!

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	72. Chapter 72

Something was not right.

Pyrrha hadn't forgotten her homework, or misplaced Milo and Akoúo – not that it was possible – nor had she forgotten to return a library book. No, it wasn't something so small.

 _Where is Ruby?_

By virtue of the two of them sharing a bed – alternating between JNPR's room and RWBY's room, for the most part, Pyrrha and Ruby's sleep schedules had aligned fairly well, albeit, Pyrrha had a tendency to wake up early and Ruby tended to stay up late into the night more often than was probably healthy.

Of course, it wasn't something they had started to doing immediately after they started dating; heck it took more than a few months before they even kissed. It went almost without saying it took years for the two to start sleeping in the same bed… at least when other people were around.

Yet, by its very nature of it just being the two of them alone, with no others to bother them –outside of someone pulling the fire alarm in the middle of the night – it had become integral to their relationship, especially as the time they had to spend apart due to classwork only grew longer.

So it was an understatement to say Pyrrha was feeling lost without her girlfriend to cuddle with. Ergo, why she was now trying to backtrack Ruby's schedule well after she had intended to fall asleep. The aforementioned classwork since they had become upperclassmen had a bad tendency to be divided by teams instead of by year… such as why Ruby and Pyrrha always seemed to be on separate away missions for the better part of the last month. To add insult to injury, the fact that they were expected to keep up with the classwork on top of the missions meant that a lot of the time, the moment a team returned from a mission, the members immediately had to hit the books for a test the next morning.

True, it certainly was preparing the budding huntresses-in-training for real world conditions, but it also meant that any personal time was kept to a minimal. Emerald eyes blearily blinked, _we have a test tomorrow for Doctor Oobleck's class…_ so Ruby would be studying. Pyrrha's lips dipped into a slightly amused grin, _or should be at least, unless she is taking a cookie break…_

Regardless, Pyrrha started to make her way to the library, the dim light of the moon illuminating the hallway, before she finally reached her destination. As always, the library was open around the clock – as was the small coffee shop set inside of it. Even deep into the night the library was busy, as Pyrrha passed by tables of haggard faces, and more than a few on a manic coffee-fueled studying spree.

It didn't take long for Pyrrha to find her errant girlfriend, her face smoshed against an open history book, clearly having fallen asleep some time ago, if the cold coffee sitting next to her was anything to go by.

 _Found her._

For a brief, brief moment Pyrrha honestly considered waking up Ruby and helping her study for the exam, but that idea left her as soon as it came. Even from what she could see of Ruby's face, she looked downright exhausted… the tall redhead didn't have the heart to wake her up. Plus, it'd do more for her to get some rest than study while drop dead tired.

Carefully, Pyrrha went about collecting all of Ruby's things – long familiar with all of the little personal effects that tended to spread out whenever her girlfriend started to study; her notebook, a handful of pens, the cute eraser that was shaped like a whale – before putting them in their proper place in Ruby's bag and slinging said bag over her shoulder, leaving just the adorable redhead and the book she was using as a pillow.

With the utmost care, Pyrrha tipped the chair back, before hooking her arms around Ruby's knees and back, and lifting her rather light girlfriend from the rather uncomfortable looking wooden chair. Dipping down, she snagged the book that Ruby had been reading, making sure to not disturb the snoozing teen.

And so began the long, long trek back to the dorm.

Every step was measured, with Pyrrha trying to keep her gait smooth and not jarring in the least as she princess-carried Ruby to her dorm. Naturally they went a lot slower than any normal person that was walking would have taken, but Pyrrha didn't mind in the slightest if it meant her rose got to stay asleep.

By the time they reached JNPR's room, it was well past Pyrrha's bed time. True, she could have just as easily woken up Ruby and made it back a good hour or two ago, or just had walked a bit faster – and risk waking her up, but her girlfriend needed sleep, and she wasn't going to be the one to wake her.

Reverently, she laid Ruby on her bed, setting down her bag next to her own, and carefully wiggled into the bed, careful to not mess up the last part of the venture. Like clockwork, the moment Pyrrha laid down, Ruby's arms clumsily wrapped around her, the teen mumbling Pyrrha's name in her sleep, bringing a smile to the larger redhead.

Despite the very distinct risk of waking her up, Pyrrha couldn't help but to give her a tender kiss on the forehead.

"I love you too."

* * *

AU: I FINALLY GOT A DAMN CHAPTER HOLY HELL, THIS TOOK FOREVER AND I AM SO SORRY AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Real life kicked me in the butt the last two weeks, and I finally, FINALLY GOT AROUND TO THIS TODAY AND I TOTALLY MEANT TO DO WHITE LIGHTNING BUT I WANTED TO DO SOME PYRRUBY, AND THIS SORTA HAPPENED AND I'M YELLING IN CAPS OH GOD I AM A MESS TODAY AHHHHHH

*coughs* okay, sorry, I don't even know what that was and if I keep trying to explain it'll end up just the same. Um. Sorry for not doing a chapter the past few weeks. My schedule has been changing and I've been busy with other things in real life. Hence why I only had two chapter updates across all my stories last month. Also my keyboard keeps disconnecting which makes writing a uniquely challenging endeavour. Need to get a new one soon.

Before I start rambling like I was above, I should also note that Acceptance chapter 27 is currently being edited and its plot is finalized, so it should come out on the two year anniversary of its first chapter. Dilation should be the same day as well.

I know this chapter isn't very shippy… I was just trying to beat some writer's block after a few weeks of not writing, sorry again!

Thank you for putting up with my not-posting! Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	73. Chapter 73

"…and that's why sloths are the best!"

Weiss could only numbly nod along, murmuring in agreement. "Be that as it may, dogs are very…" The girl's face scrunched up in the most undignified of ways. "…cute."

Nora's eyes lit up. "Like the big puppies or the small puppies? Oh! Oh! Oh! Or the really really fluffy ones?!"

The girl sitting across from her barely suppressed a rather loud squee, her left hand covering her mouth, yet the sheer level of excitement from merely thinking about all the kinds of dogs was clearly written across her face. "All of them. Especially the small fluffy ones."

"Like Zwei?" Sometimes Nora swore that Zwei wasn't Ruby and Yang's dog, but actually Weiss', at least given how much the white haired huntress seemed to spoil him rotten. It was a side of Weiss that Nora loved to see.

A dopey smile spread across Weiss' face, as she nodded. "He's so cute and adorable…"

Weiss started to excitedly ramble as Nora listened. It wasn't long until Nora had forgotten to listen and was focused on something else, altogether, however. Her focus hadn't moved much; merely switching to the speaker; it wasn't often that Weiss wore something more casual. It was a rather simple, but rather elegant looking white and blue skirt, along with a stylish sweater that hung on her just right.

To say that a bright blush was growing on Nora's face would be an understatement, especially as Weiss enthusiastically talked about cute things. Things were going well. Nora's smile wavered. Perhaps a bit too well.

Somehow, somehow, the coffee date with Weiss was going smoothly.

That's not to say that Nora didn't think it wouldn't, but no amount of reassurance could do away with that small, niggling little voice in her head. The one that always pointed out how things could go poorly, how it was only a few missteps that were the only things separating Nora from being completely alone again.

Yet nothing of the kind was happening as the orange-aired girl sipped her hot chocolate; Weiss was happily discussing their most recent assignment from Doctor Oobleck and didn't seem to be off put in the slightest by her almost nervous rambling whenever she did speak. In fact, Weiss seemed more than a little interested – a far cry from how most reacted to her – though that was aided by the fact that the white-haired girl seemed to care about everything Nora had rambled thus far about.

In short, the date was going better than Nora could have possibly hoped for.

It was for that very reason that she was increasingly getting more and more on edge. Her focus coalescing on it, on how it'd only be a handful of second until the happy, jovial atmosphere was gone. She couldn't afford to screw up! She wanted to get to know Weiss too much for that. While it ate away at her to be certain, it didn't stop her from having a good time… just more mindful of what she was saying.

"I must confess, I've always wondered why you picked the weapon that you did." Light blue eyes glanced at the weapon propped up against the wall, Nora having taken it off to sit more comfortably at their table. "It's not exactly a popular choice amongst huntsmen."

Nora blinked. "It isn't?!" She was genuinely surprised it wasn't, as Weiss shook her head in a definitive no. "But it's so awesome! It's like a huge hammer with a bomb on the end that explodes when I hit things!" Nora mimed the motion of swinging something added a noise that sounded like some kind of interpretation of how someone _might_ think an explosion sounds. "Why wouldn't I pick Magnhild?" Curious cerulean eyes stared back at Weiss.

"True," Weiss conceded after a moment, a slight smile quirking her lips as she stared into the depths of her mostly empty coffee cup. "But it must be hard to find parts for it; there isn't a standardized form of it for manufactures, which means you'd have to custom order parts or make them all yourself."

"Well, yeah, that's why I make all my own stuff! It's like half the fun! I mean I know how everything works in it n'stuff, and it's always fun to go to the workshop and beat a block of steel into the trigger bit, or the rotating cylinder." Nora's eyes were alight with happy memories; long hours spent in a forge, crafting her baby from an unrecognizable block of material into an oversized warhammer that fired explosions. Ruby might be the most weapon-knowledgeable person that Nora knew, but there was something uniquely alluring about working in a forge, probably something to do with working with her hands the whole time, keeping them busy and her mind wholly occupied. Banging something with a hammer and throwing it into a fire was just a bonus.

However, while Nora had to pull herself from the almost euphoric feel of said memories, she noticed something. Once upon a time, Ren had said something that Nora had truly taken to heart; _eyes are the windows into someone's soul_. It had sounded silly at first, but the longer she had thought about it, the more it made sense – especially in practice. Some might have thought of Nora as a bit of an airhead, she most assuredly wasn't. She had a surprisingly good grasp on what people thought of her… or how they acted.

So it was alarming to her when she looked into Weiss' eyes and saw nothing – well, not literally nothing; beautiful icy blue eyes stared back at her, naturally. Rather, it was the lack of recognition. The kind of stare someone gave another when they had no point of reference to understand what they were describing or talking about. _That's crazy, that'd mean that Weiss has never been in the forge…_

"So what about you, how come you pick Myrtenaster over a flame sword or a exploding warhammer?" There was mirth colouring Nora's tone, yet it was a mirth that wasn't precisely reflected in her eyes. No, if Weiss hadn't been so focused on her coffee, she might have noticed the worry starting to enter Nora. The worry that came from her finally messing something up, that-

"Winter suggested it, actually." Weiss stated, her eyes softening, cutting through Nora's thoughts. "In fact she bought me the first version of Myrtenaster that I had."

"You didn't make it?!" Nora couldn't keep herself from blurting it out.

Weiss shook her head. "No. It is a standardized weapon; if it breaks I just buy a new part, or failing that a new weapon." The girl shrugged as if it was a minor inconvenience.

Setting aside the fact that Nora kept on forgetting that the person across from her had access to more money than she could even imagine and that saving up to buy a weapon had been the original reason why she had made Magnhild from scratch, the first thing that the orange haired girl felt was a shot of fear. Fear that she had messed up by talking about something that Weiss hadn't cared about. The second thing she felt was sadness.

Sadness that came from realizing that the deep bond she had with Magnhild – imagined or not – was something that Weiss didn't share with her own weapon. It was almost impersonal to her; something to be bought and modified without a care. Something to be discarded, just like how it'd been back in kuroyur-

"That being said, I've been meaning to correct the guard on Myrtenaster ever since the last away mission. Instead of waiting for the order to come in, I thought I might just fix it myself and you sound like you're good with metal working…" Nora didn't believe her ears as she could have sworn, SWORN that Weiss had a hopeful tone ebbing into her voice, a faint pink tinging her cheeks. "If you're free tomorrow evening…"

Nora's face lit up in a thousand watt smile, her worries being washed away as she realized that Weiss was asking her out on a second date.

"Yup!"

* * *

AU: Holy crap I finally got around to this chapter! :D

Yeah, nearly a month late Valentines chapter… sorry about the wait D:

So I'm going to keep this super brief; I was planning on doing one of my big updates last Wednesday but it just didn't work out. Not that I don't have what I was going to publish drafted out, but I wanted just a bit longer to go over _Acceptance_ edits and what not. So the large update should be at the first of the next month, along with a far more detailed update on why the updates have slowed, tho basically good things in RL have been keeping me busy and without long stretches of time to do things. Hence why this is only the second update of the month instead of the third or fourth

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	74. Chapter 74

**The more I write the more I realize cultural differences are immense; just to clear it up, on Saint Patrick's day in the United States, if you don't wear green, you get pinched.**

* * *

Ruby had a great task laid before her.

Nay, less of a task and more of a responsibility. One that had been instilled in her from an early age, mercilessly by Yang.

Pyrrha wasn't wearing any green.

Ruby had double checked, no, triple checked. None of the many, many layers of warm clothing that Pyrrha had piled on to keep out the biting cold contained even a hint or something that could remotely be described as being 'green'. Of course, that may have been an excuse to watch her girlfriend dress, but Ruby was fairly certain she had done it for checking if she was wearing any green.

Which in turn mean she was fair game for being pinched, and it was Ruby's duty to take hold of the opportunity that she had been provided with. Especially with her teammates being gone for the day.

There was just one, tiny, tiny little problem with that.

Ruby may have kinda sorta put it off until the end of the day, and midnight was approaching now, which wouldn't be an issue, except… Pyrrha was fast asleep, her head resting on Ruby's lap, her breathes coming slow and even.

She hasn't been asleep THAT long, Ruby thought as she regarded her girlfriend. _I could just pinch her and be done with it!_

… _or I could just let it be…_

That was perhaps the most attractive idea; letting her girlfriend snooze peacefully on her lap, unmolested, her content expression lulling Ruby into a sense of apathy. _Maybe it'll just be alright if I don't do anything._

Yet Ruby knew otherwise, namely because Yang had already had a chat with her, a chat that involved her big sister essentially giving her the privilege of doing it. Naturally Ruby had accepted to save her beloved from one of Yang's insanely painful pinches.

So in a way, Ruby was really doing Pyrrha a favour.

 _It's not like Yang would know if I didn't do it, I could just not…_

Except Yang had her ways; _she find out if I did or didn't and if I don't she'll do it to Pyrrha tomorrow!_ Ruby knew that well from experience; having spent the entire day a previous year away from Yang and STILL got pinched for it for her lack of green. So there was no real escape from her fate for Pyrrha; she was going to get pinched one way or the other, it was just a matter of how hard the pincher was going to be.

Ruby wrestled with the conundrum for untold minutes as the day got closer and closer to midnight – the deadline approaching. Finally she came up with a comprise;

 _Whenever Pyrrha wakes up, I'll pinch her._

It sounded like the best of both worlds to Ruby, as she nodded to herself; that way she wouldn't wake up Pyrrha and still save her from Yang.

* * *

Yet Pyrrha stayed asleep, snoozing solidly deep into the night. Eventually her deep, even breathing lulled even Ruby into slumber, falling asleep awkwardly sitting up on a pile of blankets, her back propped up against a bed frame.

However, when Pyrrha started to move, her motion woke up the sleeping girl, awakening her with a jolt. "I didn't mean to wake you, sorry." Her girlfriend's apologetic voice slowly floated through her ears. Silver eyes blearily blinked open, only to find she was no longer where she had fallen asleep; rather she was cradled in Pyrrha's arms, evidently moving her to a more comfortable position. Alas, it was also in that moment that her comprise came into her mind and she acted.

Yet it was in that split-second that Ruby came to remember one very important fact. Something that was too late as she pinched Pyrrha's arm. Namely that her girlfriend's lovely eyes were a fierce shade of emerald, thereby meaning she had something green on her. However, the thought came too late as she pinched Pyrrha.

In turn several things happened from that simple action.

The first thing that Ruby noticed was the sound. It was high pitch and happy noise of pleasure, one that almost vibrated through all of Ruby's body with its intensity. For a moment Ruby had no idea where it came from until she came to the conclusion that Pyrrha had just moaned.

The second thing was the deep, almost embarrassed bright red blush that became flush on Pyrrha's face seconds afterwards. The kind of embarrassed blushed that Ruby knew well from when she found one of Pyrrha's guilty pleasures. However that embarrassment was turning into something else, a different expression altogether.

"Um… Pyrrha- mph!?"

* * *

AU: Neither Ruby nor Pyrrha got much sleep that night… good thing her teammates were out of the room, most likely getting piss drunk.

Okay so. Talk time.

I've been slipping with _Spoon Equality_ , and I'm going to try and get back to my normal weekly schedule. I'm still adjusting to a job change, hence why it's become much slower. There is also the fact that I've discovered after about 70 or so chapters, it's hard to generate an idea and write it in the span of about half an hour which is what most of what I used to do. Not to worry, I'll figure it out. I'll try and keep doing at least a chapter on the first week of a month and the middle week until I get back into my grove.

I'll catch up with an April Fools chapter at some point this month. It might be a while, since I have an idea for the next _Spoon Equality_ chapter and then I have the Weiss/Nora one that I need to do a couple of them from now. On that note…

IT'S THE BIG UPDATE DAY! _Dilation_ should be coming out in about an hour and a half and _Acceptance_ should be three hours from now!

Thank you for reading and I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D

P.S. WE HIT ONE THOUSAND REVIEWS WOOHOO!

P.S.S. This is actually based off a true story (somewhat)


	75. Chapter 75

As Ruby's lips pressed against Pyrrha's neck, eliciting low noises of happiness, the Mistralian had decided today was just about to end as perfectly as it had began.

An hour or two of half-awake cuddles and sleepy kisses is something that Pyrrha would constitute as pretty much perfect. Followed by a day out in Vale, walking in the park, or seeing a movie, ending with a rather divine dinner at a traditional Mistralian restaurant – the kind that had the extremely spicy food she liked… and now locked dorm room, with a very pleasing pressure against her, in more than one way.

Those happy noises rose in pitch, as Ruby pressed wantonly against her, her girlfriend's wandering knee getting trapped between her thighs right as her lips met her love's own. The sound of clothes rustling was mixed with that of wet noises as Pyrrha pulled Ruby tightly against her. Her hands threading through Ruby's black hair, needy.

They broke apart for air, heavily lidded eyes gazing deeply into each other, filled with a deep hunger, before Ruby stretched up and forwards to close the gap again…

…and then pulled back, her brows furrowed together, as if she wasn't quite sure about something.

"Ruby?" The lust in Pyrrha's eyes abated ever so slightly. "Is something wrong?"

"Um… I can't feel my lips…"

"What?" Emerald eyes blinked.

"Yeah…" Ruby poked her lips, before sadly shaking her head. "They feel really numb and tingly."

Red eyebrows knitted together in concern. "Did I do that?" A small hint of guilt coloured Pyrrha's tone.

"I don't think so?" Ruby slowly untangled herself from Pyrrha, as much as one could while still sitting in her lap, shifting so she was no longer facing her girlfriend but instead having the side of her head leaning against her chest. "They weren't numb when we were kissing a minute ago… or when I was kissing your neck… or your collarbone…"

Heat started to flair in Pyrrha before she squashed it, her concern outweighing it by leaps and bounds. "Has this ever happened to you before?" Pyrrha, personally, couldn't remember a time that kissing had made Ruby's lips go numb. _Albeit, if our kiss was just THAT good, I don't know if I should feel happy or sad; happy that I can kiss Ruby so well her lips go numb,_ a small sliver of pride swelled in her _, …or distressed that I have to be more careful now._

Ruby unconsciously licked her lips before recoiling, "Ow, ow, ow, too hot, ow!" The smaller woman flailed about before jumping off of Pyrrha and bolted to the bathroom. Moments later the sound of a running sink could be heard and that of something interrupting the flow of the water. Curious and more than a little worried, Pyrrha wandered after Ruby, only to find her with her mouth underneath the faucet, chugging water.

"Ruby?" Pyrrha asked questioningly, only for Ruby to hold up a hand with a single finger up – the universal sign to wait. A good thirty seconds later, her girlfriend finally turned off the faucet much to Pyrrha's bewildered. "Are you okay now?"

"I-I think so." Ruby uncertainly stated, before sagging dramatically against Pyrrha. "There was something super spicy on my lips. Maybe from dinner? But I didn't get anything that was hot…"

"Oh." It clicked for Pyrrha as a wave of guilt washed over her, before licking her own lips just to make sure. "That might be my own fault." The teen guiltily admitted, her face crestfallen. "I think you might have gotten that from lips." Ruby's head tilted in confusion. "Because I got something really spicy."

Silver eyes squinted at Pyrrha, with an expression akin to frustration before Ruby grabbed a towel and started to rub the elder's lips, clearly attempting to smudge off the spice. Which was to little avail, as evident by Ruby going in for a kiss immediately afterwards and returning to her old haunt, underneath the faucet. Whatever had been in Pyrrha's food was clearly going to stick to her lips for a while longer.

As Pyrrha held Ruby's hair back, as her girlfriend rinsed out her mouth, she couldn't help but feel guilty – _if I didn't order something so spicy, we would still be making out right now, or, depending might be a lot further than that…_ Pyrrha's lips had formed a frown as she sadly shook her head. "So… would you like to watch a movie?" They still had the dorm room to themselves, and cuddling while watching a movie sounded like a good, if slightly unsatisfying ending to the day.

Ruby shook her head after she pulled away from the sink. "Nope!"

Pyrrha's expression became quizzical. "Okay, then, what would you like to do?"

"Hmmmm…" Ruby tapped her chin, lost in deep thought for a few seconds before grabbing Pyrrha by the hand, leading her to where they had been at a few minutes prior.

"Ruby? What ar-eep!" Ruby pushed Pyrrha on to the bed, before plopping back on to her. "Ruby?"

"Who said we had to stop?" There was a heaviness to Ruby's voice.

"But I-"

"We just don't have to kiss, right?~"

"Oh." Emerald eyes blinked as understanding dawned on them along with a growing heat inside of her. "Oh."

* * *

AU: HEY LOOK, I DID A WEEKLY UPDATE! :D

I really need to get back into the swing of writing more often… it has been disgustingly lacking as of late. So here we go!

Fun story; once my friends made a smoothie that they called 'Black Earth', which was beer, ice cream and ghost peppers thrown into a blender. Thing smelled TERRIBLE. Would not recommend. Especially since the one taste I had of it was an actual ghost pepper chunk. Not a good time.

OH QUICK QUESTION; what kind of chapter would people like next - fluffy, hot and heavy, funny, etc etc etc...?

Thank you all for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	76. Chapter 76

**EXTREMELY BELATED APRIL FOOLS CHAPTER**

* * *

Pyrrha didn't like to disappoint people.

While it may be true that she, above all others, was put to very high standards, this didn't change the fact that no one liked to disappoint others.

Whenever Nora needed someone to help spot her, Pyrrha always went for it, despite the fact that her arms could barely budge the insanely heavy weights that the orange haired girl used. Or when Jaune needed some extra help with an assignment at always the most inopportune times for Pyrrha, she still never turned him down. Even when Ren asked her to run for groceries on the very odd occasion, she did it, despite the trip taking hours to get to and back from Vale – admittedly, bringing Ruby along always helped.

So it was no different when it came to her girlfriend; Pyrrha didn't want to disappoint the one who she loved with all of her heart. It was a point that was all the more poignant considering her… lackluster performance – to put it kindly – from last year.

The memory of Ruby's crestfallen face, filled with relief came to the forefront of Pyrrha's head.

I have to do a better prank this year!

* * *

Ruby slowly stretched, yawning loudly as the alarm clock went off, before unconsciously turning it off. At a snail's pace, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, before giving her ever lovely girlfriend a good morning kiss, the teen already up.

She's such an early riser. Ruby let out another long, drawn out yawn before jumping off the bed, and heading to the bathroom. The day had begun much as it usually did, with a warm shower. It was only as warm cascaded over her, subconsciously humming to some half remembered tune, did silver eyes shoot open.

 _Oh crap, it's_ _ **that**_ _day!_

Years of dealing with Yang had engrained a morbid amount of fear and fascination with a day literally dedicated to pranking someone, however, her eyes lost their worry quickly; _Yang is out of town for the weekend… and Blake doesn't really do it… Weiss' idea of a prank is_ \- Ruby shudder, still remembering the time her partner had decided a bucket full of water was too easy and had frozen it – _painful… but she is out of town too!_

T _hat just leaves Blake, Ren, Jaune –_ who was just about as traumatized as Ruby was due to his own siblings _, Nora – who can't keep a secret to save her life_ , Ruby had learned from Ren how to dodge any of Nora's surprises by just watching her face, _and… Pyrrha._

Ruby smiled to herself; out of everyone she knew, Pyrrha had the least harmless pranks. The relief that came from last year's prank had been immense; here I thought she had done something crazy but she just set my alarm a minute early.

In fact, if Ruby was being quite honest with herself, this was the first time that she was actually a little giddy about this particular day; _no pranks, and I get to spend the day with Pyrrha! Heck, even if Pyrrha does prank me, it'll be something super helpful… like having all my homework turned in or something. Or maybe just switching the ketchup and mustard around?_

That just left the others: Jaune, Ren, Nora and Blake.

The problem with Ren was given his quiet nature, it was quite hard to figure out if he was the prank making type – Ruby wanted to think he wasn't, especially given the last couple of years where he had spent the day acting no different than normal. Or perhaps just slightly more exasperated than normal, it was hard to tell with him.

Nora on the other hand was as enthusiastic as anyone could possibly be about it… just not very good at the whole concealing the prank aspect of the holiday. Jaune, meanwhile, was more akin to Ruby's personal outlook; he was less the pranker and more the prank-ee.

Lastly that just left Blake… who was quite happily reading her newly purchased book when Ruby had last seen her yesterday. Given her own predictions, Ruby was fairly certain she wasn't going to do anything anyway.

Sufficed to say, when Ruby walked out of the bathroom, she had not a worry in the world even when she saw Pyrrha's ever vibrant emerald eyes locking onto her own silver ones, filled with barely concealed mirth. It took only a moment to realize why, as she noticed a plate of oatmeal cookies sitting on her desk.

 _Just like I thought, a harmless prank_ , a smile lit up Ruby's face as she crossed the threshold into the dorm…

…and a bucket full of ice cold water emptied onto her head.

* * *

AU: Pyrrha was levitating it above the door for like… twenty minutes.

Huzzah, I posted three chapters this month for _Spoon Equality_ instead of two… er, I guess it WILL be three by the time I post this and not when I'm writing it… anywho;

Sorry for the long wait for a new chapter, two weekends ago I spent messing around with a cellphone transfer, a thing I am STILL dealing with. I'm hoping to post the next chapter on the first of the month and hopefully will return to a more regular weekly schedule. Incidentally I just realized that I did go with a funny chapter like people wanted haha

In other news, I believe this chapter will push _Spoon Equality_ beyond 100,000 words, so yay! My second story to break the six digit figure for word counts! Huzzah... or something?

Writing should pick up greatly next month, and I'm hoping to have _Acceptance_ out around early June, or failing that, July. I know the release times just keep getting longer, sorry about that D:

Next chapter should be either Nora and Weiss or that will be the chapter after the next one. I actually do have an idea for the next so yay for that? It's been a real problem as of late for idea generation, sadly.

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D

Update: I finally post a new chapter of Spoon Equality… and then my phone dies completely on me. The new phone I got eleven days ago and just finished transferring everything over onto mere minutes before it died and seconds after I factory reset my old phone.

Fuck.


	77. Chapter 77

Emerald eyes cracked open, the faint rays of the coming morning waking her from her light slumber.

As if on auto-pilot, Pyrrha started to slowly leave the warm confides of the bed for her morning run…

…only to be jerked back by Ruby's rock solid grip on the back of her tank top.

"Nope." Her very groggy sounding girlfriend called out in the most singsong voice she could muster this early in the morning.

"Ruby I-"

Pyrrha was yanked back into the bed with surprising strength, a noise of surprise involuntarily springing from her lips. The moment her body touched the sheets, Ruby was wrapped around her back again, her arms linking around Pyrrha's mid-section, with her face rubbing against the teen's upper back.

"Nope!~"

"But-"

Ruby's slender arms squeezed tightly, cutting off Pyrrha, before her girlfriend countered with a much more forceful 'nope'. However, instead of having the intended effect on Pyrrha, it only prompted her to pry Ruby's arms off of her… or try to, at the very least.

"Nope." This time there was very little force behind it, rather Pyrrha could swear just from the tone, she could hear Ruby's lip wobbling, and without even looking at her rose, she could tell that big, pitiful silver eyes would have greeted her if she turned around.

There were many areas that Pyrrha was nigh on invincible in… this was _not_ one of them.

"I guess I can go for a run after the alarm goes off." Pyrrha murmured in defeat, eliciting a happy noise from her girlfriend, almost sounding like a cat purring, before Ruby's grip on her slackened some.

A comfortable silence settled in.

"Have you been awake long?" Pyrrha queried after a moment – _she had to be up to have grabbed my shirt… but it's rather early._

"Mmm… like an hour?" Ruby's answer brought a frown to Pyrrha's lips.

"You couldn't fall back asleep?"

"Nu-uh." Ruby's shorter hair brushed against the back of Pyrrha's neck. "I was comfy, but I couldn't." Her girlfriend's warm breath tickled the tall redhead's back. "You're warm."

"So are you." Pyrrha countered back, reveling in the sensation of her loved one pressed up against her. Idly, Pyrrha traced down Ruby's arm, reaching the hands clasped around her stomach. Her own hand was like a giantess' compared to Ruby's, before intertwining her fingers with her love's.

 _I think I know Ruby's hands better than my own_ , Pyrrha noted, as she gently stroke them. Every contour and crease had long been memorized by her in their entirety.

Ruby mumbled something into Pyrrha's back.

"I couldn't hear you."

"…I'll run with you…"

"Oh?" Pyrrha quirked an eyebrow, as a smile grew on her face. "I thought you didn't like running before classes?"

"Running is fun!" Ruby protested. "I al-"

"Without your semblance." Pyrrha clarified.

"Oh." The taller redhead could feel Ruby all but deflate. "Um, because I owe you, cause… y'know… you are here… not doing your super-duper early run."

Pyrrha unconsciously rolled her eyes. "You don't owe me anything, Ruby. I'd much rather spent that time here." She gently pulled Ruby's hand up before pressing her lips gently against the back of it. "With you."

"Soooo… what you are saying is that you won't do any more running in the morning, and you'll just stay in the bed with me and cuddle every morning?"

Hope emanated from Ruby's voice in almost palpable waves, which made it difficult for Pyrrha to respond with anything other than an uncertain 'perhaps'. It was a response that would convince no one, least of all, Ruby.

"Buuuut Pyrrhaaaaa, I thought you liked cuddling?"

"I do! Bu-"

"So why can't you just stay in bed with me, like, every morning?"

"Because-"

"I thought you were mine."

The accusation hung heavy in the air, or rather, would have, had it not been for the light, jesting tone it was said in. Or that this conversation happened between them about once every week.

Regardless, Pyrrha shifted around so she could face her love. "Ruby Rose, I belong to you, completely and utterly… I love you more than anything in the whole world." Emerald eyes looked with complete devotion and conviction deeply into silver ones. "That will never change, but you know I need to keep to my training regiment, just like you have to keep to yours."

"I know…" Ruby admitted after a moment, her cheeks redder from that declaration than her namesake.

"So why do you tempt me every week to stay here, when you know that?"

"Because, um, I, uh… like hearing you say that…" Ruby quietly admitted after a few seconds, her words barely audible. "Hey Pyrrha?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

Pyrrha lovingly placed a kiss on her girlfriend's wrist. "I love you too, more than you could-"

 _ **BUZZ**_

The moment the alarm went off, where had once been the ever lovely Ruby Rose in Pyrrha's arms, was replaced by a clump of rose petals, promptly followed by the bathroom door swinging open.

"Finally, I gotta pee!"

Pyrrha couldn't help but chuckle as the door slammed closed. _Knowing Ruby, she has probably been up for an hour because of that_. Red hair swished as she shook her head.

 _My Rose really REALLY likes being the big spoon._

* * *

AU: Yes, Ruby didn't let Pyrrha go because she was still technically the big spoon for all of a few minutes more. Or get up to pee because she was finally the big spoon. Ruby is a dork and Pyrrha loves her for it.

WOO, I LIVE!

Yes, surprisingly, I haven't abandoned my writing, just had a rather busy time in my life, especially with work and personal stuff. Which means I'm a good month or so behind on writing Acceptance. Crap baskets.

I may have also decided to start playing Runescape again after a good eleven year gap, uhhhhhhhhh… Surprisingly, that wasn't the hold up, since that only happened like three ish days ago.

Oddly enough, I was quite happy with this chapter for once.

I don't have much in the way of news or anything else to say? Even though it's been probably three weeks? Sorry? Regular updates should resume next weekend?

I think that's about it… I'll update this if I forgot anything…

Edit: I WATCHED (and finished) PART 4 OF JOJO, GOOD STUFF!

Thank you all for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	78. Chapter 78

"I promise we'll go to the bakery, but I promised Pumpkin Pete's that I'd call today."

"It'll only take a minute, right?" Ruby asked hopefully, only to receive a smile from Pyrrha.

"Of course!" Long crimson hair swished as she nodded. "They only need to talk to me for a few minutes, and that's it, I promise!"

"Oh. Okay." Pyrrha's assurance had wiped away any of Ruby's worry, as her girlfriend typed into her scroll the number. However, instead of it even ringing…

" _All our operators are servicing other customers at the moment. Your call is very important to us and we appreciate your patience. A customer service representative will be with you shortly."_

Even though Ruby wasn't the one making the call, she could still hear the prerecorded message, as Pyrrha patiently listened to the blaring music that followed shortly, so full of static that Ruby was even hesitant to call it music.

 _Well that's just great._

Before Ruby could formulate much more than that thought Pyrrha mouthed 'I'm sorry', before turning down the volume on the scroll to a much more manageable level. "That's better."

"What do you think they were playing?" Ruby asked, curiosity seeping into her voice. "It sounded sorta… jazz-y? Or classical?"

"Hm, I'm not sure," Pyrrha commented after a moment. "Perhaps it's the Pumpkin Pete's theme song?"

"Really?" Ruby listened closely before shrugging. "It just sounds really… um… distorted? Maybe it's-"

The nearly muted music came to abrupt end, prompting Pyrrha to frantically raise the volume as Ruby's hopes soared…

" _Have you heard about Pumpkin Pete's new breath mint? With a super tasty mix of mint and ginger, not only will it be irresistible_ …" It was when she heard that nauseatingly upbeat that true despair started to set in for Ruby, and her chances of trying the new triple peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie were gone.

"I'm sorry" Pyrrha whispered to her, with a truly sorrowful expression on her face. "You can go without me if this takes too long." It was an enticing option to be sure; yet there was no way Ruby was going to abandon her girlfriend to a fate nearly worse than death itself – a fate she had to go through when her video game console broke a few weeks ago.

 _Plus, like half of the fun is watching Pyrrha eat! You'd think she never had anything good before._ So naturally, Ruby was stuck on the phone just as much as Pyrrha was. Well, except for the whole actually being on the call aspect. Which was only slightly less terrible.

 _Or is it?_

Her lips quirked into a diabolical smile.

* * *

It was a good fifteen minutes before Ruby had given up on any hope and was ready to put her plan into action.

A full fifteen minutes of listening to the hold music, only to hear the click every half a minute, so eager to think it was a service representative only to be met with another ad, or to be reminded that the call was going to be monitored. Ruby was about ready to throw the scroll through a window, yet Pyrrha continued to have the patience of a saint, politely listening through it.

The whole debacle would have been bearable, if they could at least talk; whenever they did, it ALWAYS seemed like that was the exact moment the music stopped lopping and there was a brief span of a handful of seconds where it seemed like a real person was just about to talk to them… only for the next bout of disappointment to start. Even the comfort of cuddling in Pyrrha's lap was dampened by the ungodly music coming out of the scroll.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Ruby shifted in her girlfriend's lap, no longer lounging horizontally across Pyrrha, but vertically. It was a momentous effort to do it and escape Pyrrha's ever perceptive eyes, yet, with all the skills that she had gained as a huntress-in-training, Ruby did it. Next came the trickiest part; part two of the setup.

Pyrrha might have written off the first motion as Ruby just trying to get more comfortable, but there was a machination to it. A sinister one to boot. All of whose effort would be for naught if she couldn't maintain a smokescreen over her true intentions.

With the utmost care, Ruby leaned against her girlfriend, as if sagging in disappointment as the fifty gazillionth ad started up, her hands falling strategically onto Pyrrha, who was none the wiser, only giving her a sympathetic look before returning to the scroll. It was then and only then that it was time to put her plan into motion.

With lightning speed, her fingers dug into Pyrrha's sides, followed by peals of laughter, as her girlfriend spasmed, not ready for such an abrupt assault on her sides, nor the fiendish ferocity of such a attack.

"Ruby- Ruby stop pfffh, stop it!" Yet there were no force in Pyrrha's feeble protests, only driving Ruby further, the scroll long forgotten as Pyrrha thudded onto the ground and off the chair.

It was only after a minute of pure laughter, and by the point that Ruby had decided on mercy, because Pyrrha's face had become so red, it was a deeper shade then her hair, did she realize her error. The last time the scroll clicked was not for an advertisement.

"-I think you have the wrong number."

 **Click**.

* * *

AU: I wonder if you can figure out what I've been doing over the past week or two, hm? :P

A lot, LOT of time on hold.

Anywho, I thought the idea was quite cute, and I always imagine that Pyrrha is actually quite ticklish and ugly laughs when tickled. Yup. I did post on time, as I thought it would.

Just a question for everyone, but do people still find this interesting? I've been taking a lot of breaks this year which has ended the weekly postings that used to happen like clockwork, and with it I can't quite gauge if people still like this or are just sticking around to see if I ever release info on Acceptance releases (which I still need to start writing for next chapter… I've been busy)…

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	79. Chapter 79

Hey, so quick note; I realize that most people don't know what The Resistance actually is, and trying to shoehorn in an explanation just is not a good idea, so I'm going to give a quick summary here:

In a game of 6 players, 4 are members of the resistance and 2 are spies. This is randomly selected with cards during the game. The spies know who each other are. There are up to five rounds in Resistance before the game ends. In essence, each round a player is picked as the party leader and has to form a group of members (each mission increases number of members from 2 up to 4, in a 6 person game it goes 2, 3, 4, 3, 4) to complete a mission. If a spy enters into the group, they have the chance to put a fail card into the mission and make it a failure. If three missions fail, the resistance loses. If three missions succeed, the resistance wins. All the players have to vote on the mission makeup, with majority passing it. If the resistance can't decide 5 times in a row, they lose.

That was long, I apologize, now back to the story!

* * *

"Everyone, close your eyes!~"

Ruby closed her eyes, to Yang's singsong voice, as everyone else joined her in unison, much as they had for the last three hours.

Tonight, instead of the usual duels of chance between Ruby and Pyrrha, they had picked out a party game, The Resistance, which they had to keep playing until they ended up on opposite sides. A game about lying and trust… and also a game that Ruby had yet to win at.

The first game, both Pyrrha and her were spies… and completely got picked out within a round when they both put their fail cards in the first mission. The second game, both of them were resistance members, and they lost again, this time to Yang and Blake's superior guile.

"Spies, open your eyes," Yang called out, as Ruby kept her eyes firmly shut – she had been selected as a resistance member again. "Look deep into each other's eyes. Is there something there? Something between you, a spark of something more? Perhap- ow! What was that for, Blake?"

Ruby tuned out the bickering, _is Pyrrha finally on the other side?_ So far, the pattern held that not to be true, but it was starting to get late into the night… _something had to change eventually, at least if we want any sleep._ Not that Ruby was complaining; getting to hang out with her girlfriend, sister and friends (and Weiss) was always fun.

"Okay, everyone can open your eyes." Ruby finally looked up, her face no longer resting on the table. "Alrighty… so since Pyrrha was the last mission leader… that makes it… Ren's turn!"

The teen solemnly nodded, before accepting the leader card. "I choose Nora."

"Figures."

"Of course."

"A wise choice."

A few players murmured as the mission went to a vote. "All those in favour?" All six players raised their hands, passing the mission. Nora and Ren then put their fail or success cards into the pile before shuffling them up and revealing them… to both be successes.

"Ruby, it's your turn." Ruby accepted the leadership card from Ren, before turning her EVER VIGILANT eyes onto her gathered companions.

"Hmmmmm…" Ruby wisely stroked her non-existent beard as she tried to weed out the possible spy. _Ren could be a spy… or a resistance member…_ the teen passively sat there, blankly returning her stare, _you can never tell with him_. Her attention turned to her sister, _Yang can lie through her teeth, so it could be her… just like Blake… she totally convinced Pyrrha that I was a spy last game!_

Her gaze shifted further, this time ending up on the two girls of JNPR. _I don't think Nora could ever keep a secret like that, and Pyrrha never lies… so that'd be a safe bet_. Ruby sagely nodded, pleased with her sherlockian skills of deduction. "I pick Nora, Pyrrha and myself… all those in favour?"

"I dunno sis, I think Nora is the spy." Yang stated, as she gave the orange-haired teen a shift gaze. "She probably didn't put a fail card in so we'd think she is a resistance member-"

"Maybe I did! Or maybe I didn't?" Turquoise eyes shined with a hint of inner madness. "Maybe I'm a spy and I don't even know about it! Or what if you're a spy and you are just trying to cover your tracks by betraying your fellow spy!"

Silver eyes squinted at her friend, the problem with Nora was quite the opposite of Ren; _she was effectively unreadable_. Not because of her pokerface, but because her logic went in essentially a circle every thirty seconds, making Ruby uncertain if even Nora knew whether she was a spy or a resistance member.

When it came to a vote, unsurprisingly, the only one against it, was Yang. Thereby the mission passed, the three girls putting in their fail or success cards into the pile, before shuffling and withdrawing… only to come up with a clean three successes. _Just one more success, and I'll finally win!_

Next came Nora's turn. She studied everyone's faces, making judging noises, as if doing her best impression of Professor Goodwitch before, locking onto Yang's eyes. "I chose Ren and Yang and… Blake and myself!" All said without breaking eye contact with Yang.

"No, this is a terrible idea." Yang stated, in a guffaw. "I vote no."

"But!" Nora jumped to her feet. "What if it's such a terrible idea, that even you spies don't even know how to act because it's so amazing and it succeeds!"

"I… don't think it works like that?" Ruby shrugged. "So-"

"But if three lefts make a right, so why not?"

"That's…" Ruby faltered as her eyes widened. "Wait they do?!"

"Yup!"

"Woah, that's-"

"Nora, stop distracting Ruby with directions!" Yang somewhat indigently whined. "Stopping hiding your spy-ness!"

"But if Nora was a spy, why wouldn't she have used her spy card already?" Ruby pointed out after a moment. "She could totally have set Ren up but she didn't!"

Nora gasped dramatically, as she rested a hand on her chest, her fingers pointing inwards in an expression of clear hurt. "I would never ever do that!" Turquoise eyes blinked. "Unless I was a spy…"

Yang rolled her eyes. "Nobody ever puts a fail card in the first round, well, except you two lovebirds." The reminder of Ruby's failure brought a bright blush of embarrassment up the back of her neck, as she blubbered out barely coherent excuses.

The vote came, with everyone but Yang, once more, voting yes. The fail and success cards were put in a pile, shuffled and revealed…

…to have a fail card.

 _Oh shit, someone is a spy! …and Yang might have been right, crapbaskets._

 _It has to be one of them!_ The problem with that thought, was that it contained most of the group, sans Ruby and Pyrrha. It didn't help that both Yang and Blake hadn't been picked before, especially when it came to accusations, _so who could it be?_

Suddenly the atmosphere became much tenser with the reveal of the fail card, as Yang and Nora started to argue that each other was a spy (or that everyone was a spy).

Blake's choice, as she was the next party leader, was shot down, as everyone – sans Nora – voted no.

"I pick myself and…" Yang's finger wavered, before settling on someone, "Ren and… Pyrrha! Because, clearly I know I'm not a spy, and Pyrrha couldn't lie to anyone… and Ren is… probably not it…" She gave a shrug at the end.

Ruby's brow furrowed, "You sure about that sis? I'm pret-"

"Wait a moment, you think I'm the spy?" Blake's words were accusatory, filled with daggers as Yang pointedly looked away. "So what, do you think Nora and I are spies?!"

"…all I'm saying is that there were no spy cards until you were in a mission…"

"Wow, Yang, just… wow."

"ANYWAYS! All those in favour?"

Ruby rose her hand, along with Yang, Ren and Pyrrha, passing the mission by a narrow vote. The mission fail or success cards were sent to the middle and shuffled before flipping…

...to reveal two different fail cards.

"What?!" Silver eyes widened in shock. _That means that two of them were spies!_

This made the final mission infinitely tricky for the resistance, as with four members required, it meant someone had to select the correct person out of the previous mission for it to succeed. Pyrrha and Ren's turns ended with a deadlock, passing the mission leader card over to Ruby.

Which meant that she held all the power.

"Ruby, I'm not the spy!" Yang's fist pounded on the card table. "Seriously, it's Ren and Pyrrha!"

While, Ruby could believe it was Ren, as he stared passively at them, with a blank expression as Nora proceeded to freak out, Pyrrha she could not. Pyrrha who looked sad and dejected as being accused of such high treason as being a spy. "That sounds like something a spy would say…" Blake pointed out, clearly still sore at being accused by her best friend a few rounds before.

"Ruby, when have I ever lied to you?" Yang shrilled, as Ruby was clearly starting to push the mission member token towards Pyrrha.

Silver eyes narrowed, Ruby wracking her brain for such an answer. "That time you said Zwei ate all the cookies?"

"Well, um, besides that?"

"Like… last game?"

"..."

Yang had nothing more to say, as it came to another vote, with Blake, Ruby, Pyrrha and Ren voting yes- wait why did Ren vote yes? _I thought he and Yang were the spies, unless that means-_

Pyrrha pushed a fail or success card into the middle of the table, face up.

"Spies win."

* * *

"How did you win?"

Ruby grumbled as Pyrrha wrapped her arms around her midsection, securing her position as the big spoon for the night. "Like, no one, not even Yang thought you were the spy until the end… you never said anything that made it suspicious…"

Pyrrha hummed thoughtfully for a moment, before letting out a shaky chuckle. "It was surprisingly easy."

Ruby broke out of Pyrrha's embrace before twisting around to face her. "Yeah? How was that?" Her eyes narrowed. "You are, like, really really bad at lying."

Instead of bring proud like Ruby would have been, Pyrrha shied away from her girlfriend's gaze.

"I… just didn't say anything? That way I didn't have to lie…"

Silver eyes blinked.

"Why didn't I think of that?"

* * *

AU: Man, I just realized this chapter is super confusing on a number of levels.

I apologize to anyone who hasn't played resistance and how this makes no damn sense… I tried to explain the rules above, but if you have any questions feel free to leave them in the reviews… this will be one of the few times I actually try and respond to all questions on Spoon Equality given the nature of this chapter.

I've been meaning to use this game for a while but I always had other ideas and, well, there is a difficulty curve of describing a game that most people have never heard of before. I really hope this makes some semblance of sense because I'm planning on using it in later chapters.

Sorry for the long absence between chapters, this has become a twice a month kind of update schedule at this point. Good news tho; I've finally figured out what I'm doing with Acceptance and will actually start work on that tomorrow.

QA section

Cloy552: I've never played this game before but your explanation makes sense. Though I'm not entirely sure how the cards work. I get there are fail and success cards but I don't get how they are reclaimed between rounds or something.

My explanation: I realize I probably didn't fully explain this;

Essentially once the mission has been approved, someone hands out two cards to everyone, which look identical when face down. One is a fail card and one is a success card. At everyone mission, the mission members have to put ONE of those cards in the middle. The way for a spy to fail a mission is to put a fail card. Sometimes its strategic to not put a fail card in for some reason. Once the cards have been placed in the middle, mission members will dumb their cards back into the deck without revealing what it was, thereby making it anonymous.

End of section

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	80. Chapter 80

_Please open!_

Guilt lanced through Pyrrha as she helplessly pressed the power button to her scroll, trying to will it to turn on.

Much like the last twenty odd attempts, there wasn't even so much as a spark of life in it.

Emerald eyes glanced over to Ruby.

Her girlfriend was very much in the same boat as her, only far more frantically mashing the power button, while begging with the device. Pleading with it to work.

 _It's all my fault._

To be perfectly truthful, it wasn't entirely Pyrrha's fault; after all, even the Invincible Girl herself was bound to lose control around her girlfriend, especially when said girlfriend had inherited more than just a few of the traits that her elder sister seemed so replete with.

 _I should have known Ruby was up to something when she had the same look Yang did when she realized she could tease Weiss about Nora._ Regardless of who was to be blamed, one thing had let to another, and Pyrrha had lost control… and fried their scrolls with her semblance accidentally.

Which, while it wasn't such a terrible thing, and something that had happened before, left the two in quite a predicament, especially since it was well into the night. The predicament being they couldn't get into their room, either JNPR's or RWBY's. Nor could they text someone for help for the very same reason. _Banging on the door is sure to annoy Weiss_ – something that Pyrrha had learned during her time in Ruby's dorm was that her partner did _not_ like being disturbed at night.

Yet Pyrrha's dorm room had quite the opposite problem. _Nora snores so loud, Weiss will hear us before anyone in there would, so that wouldn't work either_. Pyrrha's shoulders sagged as she finally gave up, dejectedly putting her scroll away. "I don't think it's going to work, Ruby."

Ruby's expression was that of panic as she kept on mashing the power button, paying no heed to her girlfriend. "But it's gotta work, else we aren't getting a bed tonight!"

"I'm sorry." Pyrrha's lips dipped into a deep frown.

"It's not your fault!" Instantly arms were around her, as Ruby pressed against her. "If I hadn't done-mmmph!"

Pyrrha placed a finger over her mouth, as the back of her neck turned a scarlet red to match her hair before spreading to her cheeks. "No, it's really my fault."

Ruby pried away Pyrrha's hand. "Nope!"

"But-"

"Nope!"

Pyrrha gave a sigh before regaining some semblance of a smile. "What should we do?"

"What?" Ruby's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Well, I don't think it'd be all that bad if Weiss wakes up… we could just knock on your door, right?" Pyrrha asked carefully.

Ruby shook her head vehemently in return. "Remember when we played monopoly last time and she kicked us out?" Pyrrha slowly nodded. "Weiss said that if we kept her up again, she was going to keep Zwei."

Emerald eyes widened in surprise. "Do you think she'll really do that?" While Pyrrha might not know Weiss as well as Ruby did, that seemed a bit… extreme, even for the heiress.

"She checks to see how much it costs to send a corgi to where ever her sister is." Silver eyes stared back at Pyrrha, deadly serious. "Daily."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Perhaps we could try and get Blake to open the door?" Pyrrha suggested after a moment of thought. "She probably can hear better then Weiss with her ears."

Ruby bit her lip. "Yeah, but, like, she sleeps under Yang, who snores almost as bad Nora..."

Pyrrha gave her girlfriend an odd look, _Yang doesn't snore that badly, Nora shakes the bed frames_. "Surely it isn't that ba-"

"Also-pretty-sure-she-wants-Zwei-gone-too!"

"Oh" The redhead was quiet for a moment before she ran out of ideas. "What else could we do?"

"Hmmmm." Her better half stroked an imaginary beard as if she was a sage lost in deep thought, contemplating the mysteries of the universe.

"We could go out to the courtyard, try and find the closest tree to my room, climb it. Then get onto the inch wide ledge that our windowsill has, hoping not to fall off. Once there, we could try and see if we can spot someone else's scroll, and you could use your magneto powers on it to unlock the door – which I'll be standing at, ready. But first you have to tap the wall with the scroll to make sure that I know to open it."

Emerald eyes blinked.

"That sounds rather… complex?"

Ruby stared at the floor, crestfallen. "I dunno what else to do…"

Pyrrha had an epiphany. "Perhaps we could get a hotel room in Vale? We'll just have to wake up early to get to back for class, but we could do it."

Ruby hummed in thought for a moment. "Do we have enough lien for that? The only thing we could probably get at this hour would be a love hotel…"

A very pregnant pause hung over them, as Pyrrha imagined the fun aspects of explaining to everyone that they had stayed in a love hotel the next morning.

"…so how many times do you want me to knock on the wall?"

* * *

AU: Hey look another chapter this month, whaaaaa!?

Neither of them thought of the most sensible of solutions; have Pyrrha lockpick the door with her semblance.

So, good news first!

 _Acceptance_ chapter 28 is currently being edited by ASR, so its going to post July 1st if the schedule holds alongside _Dilation_ and _Spoon Equality_ chapters.

Bad news.

It's been so dang long since I watched volume 1 – 3 of RWBY that I really need to do it again because I'm not as able to hear Pyrrha's voice internally and that makes the above chapter feel a bit bland… maybe it didn't and I'm just psyching myself out, who knows? (also I'm spending all my money on anime, plz halp.)

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


	81. Chapter 81

"What about this game?"

Ruby glanced at the plastic cartridge that Pyrrha was pointing at. Silver eyes followed the long slender finger's direction before landing on _that_ game.

The game that Ruby was certain Satan made – I thought Yang threw it out?! Yet here it was, as Pyrrha curiously examined the game, reading the back of it. "It says you need a microphone." Emerald eyes searched around stack of games.

The panic-stricken state started to abate for Ruby, as Pyrrha found no microphone nearby – nothing that would make Ruby ever have to experience the terror that is Hey Yo-

"I found it!"

Dread filled Ruby. True, there was dread of the game, but what really caused the sinking, terrible feeling in Ruby's heart was that of the excitement in Pyrrha's voice. The excited glee of trying something new, especially with something as novel as a game that required a microphone to talk to a cute creature.

"Is it two player?" Ruby shook her head, the light in Pyrrha's eyes dimming slightly. "Should we switch off then or…?"

"Nu-uh." Ruby scratched her head. "It's not really a two player game? It's also kinda long…" It was a bit subtle, something that Ruby had learned from Blake, but she was hitting all the things that she knew Pyrrha didn't like when it came to gaming; _she likes short, multiplayer games._

"Oh." Pyrrha looked like a kicked puppy, dejectedly staring at the game case.

There was still a sliver of hope in the those lovely eyes that Ruby couldn't bring herself to kill, which was perhaps why she held her tongue about the trap, dooming Pyrrha to a cycle of pain. Or perhaps, it was because even after all these many years, Ruby still wanted someone to share in her pain – to understand the depth of the suffering that game had caused her. I'm going to regret this…

"But you could play and I just watch?" Ruby suggested after a moment, before plopping down onto Pyrrha like a limp noodle. "You just have to carry me to the couch~"

Emerald eyes lit up.

"Deal!"

* * *

"He's so cute!" Her girlfriend was making a face similar to the one her partner made every time she talked Zwei.

It was a sentiment that Ruby wholeheartedly agreed with, as Pyrrha spoke in a cooing tone into the microphone, the words forming into a bubble before smacking into the electric mouse. An excited giggle escaped Pyrrha's lips as the creature cautiously plodded up to the screen with giant, hopeful eyes and a nervous smile.

" _Pika?"_

Silver eyes glanced at Pyrrha. Her eyes were alight with the same expression Weiss made whenever she saw Zwei. Oh this was going to be bad.

Very, very bad.

* * *

The next couple of hours passed in a flurry of activities, as Pyrrha interacted with her new companion, growing closer and closer to the little creature. Ruby watched as her girlfriend helped the creature watch over other creatures, small baby ones – or fish in the creek. Occasionally they'd go out and do some kind of event with the yellow creature's friends.

Yet, Ruby wasn't concerned with that, or rather, that wasn't what she was watching. Instead she was watching a number tick on, a small number that held a very, very big concern; how many days in the game had passed.

That number slowly got closer and closer to the one that Ruby feared the most.

She wasn't surprised in the least when the professor asked to meet player, i.e. Pyrrha out in the forest.

"… _you need to return him to the wild. Say goodbye to Pikachu."_

Pyrrha's happy smile fell into uncertainty.

"W-what?"

The moment had finally come. The moment that Ruby forever remembered from her long hours playing this game; the moment you had to tell Pikachu to go away.

Forever.

"I'm sorry." Ruby hugged her girlfriend tightly, as the taller redhead's lip wobbled. "You were so excited but I didn't want to ruin it for yo-"

"It's okay." Pyrrha finally uttered, interrupting Ruby, emerald eyes shining with unshed tears. "I had a grand time… I-I'm ready."

Ruby felt Pyrrha take a deep breath in.

"Goodbye."

The cute creature's face went instantly from a happy expression to a confused, borderline sad one as the professor prompted them to say it again.

By the third goodbye, Pyrrha had gotten farther then Ruby had ever been – the younger teen had left the game in tears after the second, leaving Yang to deal with the game in her stead.

Eventually, as all things did, the game came to an end, as Pikachu wandered off away from the camera, never to be seen again. It was at this point that Pyrrha had let go of the control and silent sobbing into Ruby's shoulder, holding onto the small girl as if she was her only lifeline. "Shh, it's going to be okay!"

"I knew he had to go back into the wild," Pyrrha choked out after a minute, "but it-"

" _Pika!"_

Silver eyes flickered open just in time to see the yellow mouse creature running back into the camera's view.

Wait, he comes back? He comes back?!

Oddly enough, it wasn't relief that flooded into Ruby, as opposed to Pyrrha's huge sigh of relief. No, a very different emotion grew deep inside her. An emotion that can only be brought out by someone's elder sister saying the game just had credits roll at the end… and not that your Pokémon comes back to you.

Namely, anger.

"YANG!"

* * *

AU: I swear Yang must have done this once (lied about a game or a TV show so she could selfishly do it alone), or else Ruby and her didn't have a true childhood growing up… 90% of growing up with a sibling is being a jackass to them.

So basically there is this game, called "Hey You, Pikachu!" where you have a microphone AND TALK TO FREAKIN PIKACHU! Like he totally responds and acts like a cute puppy when he isn't a shit. I never found this out until later but the final bit of the storyline has you saying "goodbye" to Pikachu since he is a wild Pokémon and needs to return to the wilds… ONLY FOR HIM TO RETURN LIKE FIVE MINTUES LATER!

Sorry, got a bit ranty there for a moment.

Okay so I probably won't have another chapter out until early August when I do an update with Dilation and Acceptance. Here is why…

So ever since this year started, as some might have noticed, I've stopped posting every week. There is a plethora of reasons for that; it ranges from less available time to running thin on ideas 81 chapters later. It's something that will probably continue for some time.

So, sorry for the long gaps in updates, but it's going to happen… but I haven't abandoned my stories :P

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D

P.S. If you are the anon who just posted a review on chapter 32 about trying to reach the end of the story before the end of the day and you see, CONGRATS YOU DID THE THING! :D


	82. Chapter 82

So I don't often preface stuff, well, I try not to, but today is a bit special.

TRIPLE UPDATE DAY! :D

However, that's not why I'm prefacing this particular chapter. Rather it's a bit of a story that I'd like to share before you read.

Initially I wrote chapter 82 and sent it to a good friend of mine to see if Nora and Weiss were in-character because its been a time and a half since I last wrote them… and somehow (which involved surprisingly no coercion) he wrote a much better version of the chapter.

At that point I was going to just post his as a guest chapter, but it was suggested to me to post both; I already did the leg work on one of them, so why the heck not?

The first chapter will be mine and the second will be Super Saiyan Cyndaquil's version.

Please leave a comment on which you think is better :P

* * *

It could be said that Weiss was… _thoroughly_ enjoying her date.

In fact, she might just have started to regret every time she turned Yang down when she went to the academy's gym.

Admittedly, that had mostly to do with watching the woman in front of her – no, her girlfriend, the phrase still somewhat foreign to the atlesian's mind – slowly go through her weight training. Which in turn had a lot, A LOT to do with the bulging, well defined muscles that Nora seemed to unconsciously find the best possible way to show off with every motion.

On a subconscious level, Weiss knew that Nora was strong; the girl could bench press a literal ton – and that was without her using her semblance. Yet it had never sunk into Weiss that the rather small girl had abs that might as well have been the chiseled from granite, which seemed to draw her light blue eyes to without fail. In fact-

"Weiss?" Bright turquoise eyes stared imploringly at her clearly waiting for an answer that the girl had not the faintest clue about as Weiss tried to act as if she hadn't been ogling her date's muscles.

"Could you repeat that?" Inwardly, Weiss was kicking herself as the words leapt unbidden from her lips. A stupid phrase that all but pointed out she hadn't been paying the best attention.

Nora didn't seem to be perturbed in the slightest, however. "Wanna spot for me?"

"Naturally."

Nora's lips lit up in a smile. "How heavy can you do?"

"How much do you usually bench?"

"Well, usually when Pyrrha's with me we do at least five hundred, sometimes a thousand!" Nora's excitement dimmed. "But we don't have to do that much if you don't want to…"

In Weiss' mind an instant battle took place; _Nora wants to do more than I can lift – do I say a safe, if embarrassing amount I can actually lift, or just hope that she doesn't drop it?_ _Moreover, do I admit that I can't do it?_ It was a decision done in an instant as Weiss picked the less… intelligent of the two options.

"Go as heavy as you want." Weiss flashed her a confident smile. "I can handle it." Go big or go home as the saying went.

"Really?" Nora blinked in surprise. "Are you sure that you can handle it?"

"Of course I can." Weiss replied, almost wounded that her girlfriend didn't believe in her – admittedly she had every reason not to trust in Weiss' word given the white haired girl was sure she could maybe bench her own weight in weights and that was it. Even that was a big, big _maybe_.

* * *

"…44…" The bench creaked unsteadily as Nora lifted the weight again, Weiss hovering next to her to catch it in case it was too much.

Not that Weiss had much to worry, as Nora worked like a tireless machine, not wavering in the slightest. It was because of that, that Weiss' attention strayed once more.

This close to Nora, Weiss started to pick out little details on her. Like how her tongue hung out a bit as she concentrated, or how she was truly doing the kind of form that a gym trainer would applaud. Or how her hair was parted, the way her bangs curled. Or how her eyes shone…

"Are you not having fun?"

For a moment Weiss didn't realize that the words came from Nora, as they were quite unlike anything she heard from the girl; calm, almost collected. Resigned. Or the fact that she kept on bench pressing away.

"I'm… enjoying myself." Weiss stated diplomatically after a moment.

"You don't look like you are." Nora's words held a neutral tone, yet Weiss couldn't help but feel a hint of something accusatory to it. "We could do something el-"

"I really am enjoying myself." The white haired girl protested, more than a little indignant at the accusation.

"Do you want to have a go at it?" Nora shot back almost instantly, her eyes darting sideways, avoiding Weiss'.

"No, I'm quite fine at the moment." Weiss retorted a tad too fast – _my arms would break if I tried to lift THAT_. A single white eyebrow rose, "is something the matter…?"

Nora's lips compressed into a frown. "You keep zoning out…"

"Oh." Heat started to tinge the back of Weiss' neck, the contrast deep against her normally pale skin and pastel workout clothes. "Sorry." Embarrassment and apologizing – things that Weiss would normally never show, very much admit out loud. "I was… distracted."

"Distracted?" Nora's brow furrowed. "By my abs?"

 _Shit_.

"They have a certain… appealing quality to them." Weiss didn't think her face could get any redder. "They're very _attractive_ , to say the least."

Weiss got to see the heat mirrored on Nora's face for a moment, a happy smile crossing out the frown…

…only for Nora to lose focus, the half a ton weight dropping like lead into Weiss' hands.

"Weiss are you okay?!"

* * *

That was my version. I couldn't actually figure out how to do a last line so I just sorta decided to abstain and hope that the final line was a good enough punch line.

Now on to Super Saiyan Cyndaquil's version!

* * *

Weiss hated everything.

It was just some things she hated a little less than others.

Working out was one of those things that topped her list of most hated activities she could possibly be spent doing. It was why she turned down Yang's every offer to go to Beacon Academy's world renowned gym.

Having said that, one thing Weiss hated a little less than most was her girlfriend Nora, whose presence she tolerated just often enough to go on the occasional odd date. Today's venue being the gym she would ordinarily never be caught dead in.

"Okay, Weiss! Today is biceps!" Nora skipped gleefully over to a bench with a long bar positioned over it. "How about we start with some basic barbell reps?" She pat the long bar like it was an old-time friend and not an inanimate object whose purpose was to either choke or crush you. "So… how much do you think you can bench?"

Weiss' nose crinkled as Nora's turquoise eyes gazed at her with the intense curiosity. The question she asked carried numerous undertones. Optimistically speaking, Nora was asking to help choose which weight would be appropriate for Weiss to get the best possible gains. Weiss, however, was not an optimist.

Instead, she saw Nora's question for all the smug intentions that it truly held hidden beneath the surface. No matter what number Weiss gave, her girlfriend would surely be able to bench more. Without knowing what that number was, however, Weiss had no idea of knowing what would be considered a remotely acceptable figure. She needed more information.

"You're the expert here." Weiss folded her arms and rolled both eyes in a display to show she was onto Nora's nefarious shenanigans. "How much is it you usually do?"

"Hmm…" Nora adorably placed an index finger on her chin and mulled the question. "Depends, I suppose. If I'm not going for a set, I can bench about a 1000 lbs, but when I come with Pyrrha I only do about 500 because I'm worried she's not going to be able to properly spot me if I do more than that."

A t-thousand!?

Weiss had to bite her tongue, lest she shout out loud. Instead, she kept her internal thoughts to herself. "O-oh…" She nodded as if it was common sense. "You're obviously talking with the use of your Semblance."

Nora giggled. "Oh no. That's without it silly."

"Are you a goddamned monster!"

Oops. She shouted that out loud.

"Don't worry, Weissy-micey!" Nora completely ignored her outburst, for better or worse, and proceeded to use that horrid nickname she had come up for her just last week. What part of Mice were supposed to be endearing? "I brought something just your level, cause I thought you might not be able to handle anything the gym had."

"Say what!?" Weiss gave an indignant cry, but Nora ignored that too. The enthusiastic bomber girl was digging through the duffle bag she brought with her.

"Ta dah!" With a triumphant shout and dazzling smile, Nora produced two fluffy pink teddy bears.

"..." Weiss' eye twitched. "What. Are. Those?"

"They're your weights!" Nora squeezed one of the bear's and it gave the most kawaii ugly "Kyun!" Weiss had ever heard. Her heart only skipped a beat because the sound was akin to nails on chalkboard. No other reason. None.

Nora skipped around the bar, sticking a bear on both ends, each time the bear making another hideous noise as it was squeezed against the bar. Then her girlfriend stood behind the bar and pat it enthusiastically. "Come on! This should be no problem for you!"

Weiss almost refused out of instinct. It was humiliating. She would be the laughing stock of the gym if everyone saw her lifting… _those._ Then she had another thought: Was Nora was insinuating that this was the most she could do?

 _That_ was even more unacceptable than any kind of social stigma she could acquire by being seen benching a couple teddy bears. She would show her. She was about to bench the shit out of those bears.

"Let's just get this over with." Weiss laid down on the bench, looking straight up. While laying down, she definitely didn't stop and take a second to appreciate the angle of Nora's cleavage the position gave her. She didn't. Okay? It didn't happen.

"I'm ready to spot you any time. Just let me know if you need help. Let's go for ten full reps." Nora took Weiss's hand and placed them in the proper position on the bar.

"Hmm, I can do a hundred." Weiss slipped the bar off the notches holding it above her head.

And immediately lost the ability to breathe.

The bar fell straight down, Weiss' arms not slowing it in the slightest. It now pushed down with all the weight of a Goliath on her trachea.

Ah. So this is how I die.

Done in by my girlfriend.

Here lies Weiss. Choked by two Teddy Bears in a gym.

"Oh my gosh, Weiss-micey, are you okay?" The bar was lifted off her not a moment later. Nora easily lifting it and placing it back on the notches.

Like Hell I am! Weiss tried to shout that. What she actually ended up saying was something more along the lines of "Grghlt, pimendrflsng!"

It took her several seconds to regain her breath enough to actually speak in words that could be considered human. "How much is this freaking bar!?" It was most certainly the bar's fault. The bears couldn't have been the problem.

"It's only like twenty lbs…" Nora rubbed her chin, looking just as clueless as Weiss felt. "I don't understand what happened. I only loaded the bears with like 100 lbs of lead each. I thought for sure you could handle that."

"..."

"..."

"...I hate you."

"Aww… shucks, Weissy. I hate you too." Nora blushed bashfully and leaned forward, lips puckered.

"No, I mean I actually-" You know what? Forget it. Weiss couldn't say no when Nora made that face. And she had kind of saved her life.

She was just going to have to forget that her girlfriend was the one that nearly killed her in the first place.

* * *

AU: Personally I like Super Saiyan Cyndaquil's far better than my own. I would love to see what people think, however!

 _Dilation_ should be up next, if all goes according to plan. I've noticed the site has been dropping my email notifications and if that's the case I might hold off. Alternatively, this will be the first time I'll be posting via mobile as I'll be away from the desktop. So either of those could result in _Dilation_ or _Acceptance_ being held off until later in the day.

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D


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